Official UK procurement notice
Archaeology Project Contractor · UK public procurement notice
Authority: University of Exeter (Central government)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
Sectors: Construction & Civil Engineering (45)Architecture & Engineering (71) Delivery: South West (UKK4)
Published estimate£185,000≈ £39k / year · £222,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 13 Jan 2026awarded 28 Jan 2026
Awarded to Cotswold Archaeology Ltd
Contract term 4 yrs 9 moends 31 Oct 2030 · starts 13 Feb 2026
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThis opportunity is for an Archaeology Project Contractor to facilitate community-focused archaeological investigations of a Roman villa complex and multi-phase settlement on land at Battens Farm and Watton Farm, Halberton, Devon, including all post-excavation assessment, analysis and publication. The project is expected to begin in February 2026 and be completed by October 2030.
- No preliminary market engagement: We have not undertaken pre-market engagement for this procurement, due to previous quotes being obtained from three archaeological companies when this project was in early planning stages, and due to the market being relatively small and well-known to us. We have informed local archaeological companies about the tender opportunity, and the larger national companies
CPV: Archaeological services · Excavation work at archaeological sites
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedPublished value£185,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
How bids were scored
Published sub-criteria (2)
- Technical Questionnaire: 70%
- Pricing Submssion: 30%
Published award criteria (2)
- Pricing Submssion
- Technical Questionnaire: The technical questionnaire comprises 3 sections: 1. Written Proposal (weighted to 80%) 2. Sustainability (weighted to 10%) 3. Social Value (weighted to 10%)
What this means for your bid
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- 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
- 11 Dec 2025, 18:00 GMT
- Last source update
- 16 Feb 2026, 14:16 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 27 Jan 2026
- Authority reference
UOE/2025/084/CH- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-082243- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05f45dFind a Tender
How it was run
Official noticeRun through: EU-Supply (CTM) · Who buys & how to bid on EU-Supply
Access & registration note: Free · 5–10 minutes
- Submission deadline
- 13 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 6 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Timeline
11 Dec 2025 → 16 Feb 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published319 days ago11 Dec 2025, 18:00 GMT
- Clarification questions by293 days ago6 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadline286 days ago13 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by272 days ago27 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent270 days ago30 Jan 2026
- Standstill ends257 days ago11 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts256 days ago13 Feb 2026
- Latest notice published252 days ago16 Feb 2026, 14:16 GMT
Notice history
7 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 11 Dec 2025- Tender notice published11 Dec 2025, 18:00 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published2 Feb 2026, 16:04 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete2 Feb 2026, 16:04 GMT
- Buyer details updated2 Feb 2026, 16:04 GMT
- Contract signature expected13 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published16 Feb 2026, 14:16 GMTUK7
- Buyer details updated16 Feb 2026, 14:16 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecastAwards 1
Awarded value £185,0001 award exc. VAT
Bids received 54 from SMEs
Contracts signed 1latest 12 Feb 2026
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cotswold Archaeology Ltd27 Feb 2026 – 31 Oct 2030 | £185,000 | 28 Jan 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Archaeology Project Contractor · Cotswold Archaeology Ltd
- Signed
- 12 Feb 2026
- Value
- £185,000
- Period
- 12 Feb 2026 – 31 Oct 2030
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5final-stage tenders | 4 | 1 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeBidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice- COTSWOLD ARCHAEOLOGY LIMITEDAwarded supplier
- Cotswold Archaeology LtdAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender