Official UK procurement notice
Appointment of External Auditor
Authority: Platform Housing Limited (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Group intends to undertake a procurement exercise for the appointment of its external auditor and is conducting pre-market engagement to inform the development of its procurement strategy, specification and proposed approach to market.
The requirement will be for the provision of independent external audit services to the Group and relevant entities within the Group structure. The appointed auditor will be expected to deliver high-quality, independent and effective audit services in accordance with all applicable legislation, regulatory requirements, professional standards and relevant guidance.
The purpose of this pre-market engagement is to obtain views and information from suitably experienced organisations regarding the proposed requirement and the current external audit market. In particular, the Group is seeking to understand:
- the capacity and capability of the market to deliver the proposed requirement;
- the level and type of experience, expertise and resources required to deliver the services effectively;
- appropriate approaches to audit planning, delivery, technology, data analytics and quality assurance;
- mobilisation and transition requirements, particularly where there is a change of external auditor;
- commercial and pricing considerations, including factors that may influence the cost of the services;
- potential barriers to participation and opportunities to encourage effective competition; and
- any other matters that the market considers relevant to the successful procurement and delivery of the services.
CPV: Auditing services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Platform Housing Limited buys Accounting and auditing services (CPV 7921), and who usually turns up
Platform Housing Limited’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Accounting and auditing services (CPV 7921) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in West Midlands.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside West Midlands.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 37 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid0% / 22%
2–30% / 0%
4–680% / 56%
7+20% / 22%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate25%
Within ±2%63%
Above estimate13%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7921Estimate not published
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 138 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid14%
2–315%
4–626%
7+45%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 28 Aug 2026, 11:37 BST
- Last source update
- 28 Aug 2026, 11:37 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-082114- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ee68Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
28 Aug 2026 → 1 Aug 2027 · 3 dates- Planning notice published54 days ago28 Aug 2026, 11:37 BST
- Market engagement37 days ago14 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
The Group currently intends to commence the formal procurement process following completion of the pre-market engagement exercise, subject to the outcome of the engagement and the Group's internal governance and approvals.
The Group's current intention is for the procurement process to be completed and the external auditor appointment to be in place by July 2027, allowing sufficient time for mobilisation and transition arrangements as required.
Organisations participating in this pre-market engagement should note that the exercise is being undertaken for information-gathering and market-testing purposes only. It does not constitute an invitation to tender, a call for competition, or a commitment by the Group to proceed with a procurement exercise or to award a contract.
Participation in the pre-market engagement will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in any subsequent procurement process. Any future procurement will be conducted in accordance with the applicable procurement legislation and the Group's procurement procedures. Information obtained through this engagement may be used to inform the final procurement strategy, requirements and documentation.
The Group reserves the right to amend its proposed approach, requirements and timetable following completion of the pre-market engagement.
We may invite suppliers to a presentation session if we feel that it is needed post the pre-market engagement questionnaire being completed and concluded.
We will advise if we intend to do this and ensure that suppliers are given adequate time to prepare.
You can respond to the questionnaire here: wkf.ms/46tHuHU ↗
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 283 days1 Aug 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published28 Aug 2026, 11:37 BSTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender