Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 28 Sept 2026, 10:06 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Architectural Services — UK public procurement notice

Authority: Bedford College (Education)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Sectors: Architecture & Engineering (71) Delivery: UK
Published estimate£1,166,667≈ £292k / year · £1,400,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 30 Oct 202612:00 GMT · 32d 2h left
Clarification cut-off 21 Oct 202612:00 BST · questions to the authority
Contract term 4 yrsstarts 1 Dec 2026
Bids per lot · this authority 2.5all categories · n=6 · competition analysis ↓

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Bedford College is seeking to appoint a single supplier to provide Architectural Services in support of College projects. The appointed supplier will provide full architectural services for projects with values up to £5 million and, where required by the College, selected projects exceeding this value. The contract will be awarded for a period of four years.

CPV: Architectural design services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Lot 1 4 yrsSMEVCSEPublished value£1,166,667
Contract period: 1 Dec 2026 — 2 Dec 2030 (4 yrs)Eligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligibleDelivery: UKTurnover guideline: ~£582,137/yr≈ 2× annual value
Value
£1,166,667 exc. VAT · £1,400,000 inc. VAT
71220000 Architectural design services

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

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 more
How bids are scored
Quality: 50%Price: 50%

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

How Bedford College buys Architectural design services (CPV 7122) — and who usually turns up

Bedford College’s own published record, next to the East of England market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Architectural design services (CPV 7122) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested contracts only — direct awards (including PA 2023 transparency notices) report one bid by definition and are left out. On Procurement Act 2023 notices the count is the tenders assessed at the final stage, not every submission received; pairs compare like with like (VAT-exclusive, or VAT-inclusive on both sides). Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.

This authority

Bedford College

contract notices in 36 months: 13 in all categories (6 route not published)

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 6 lots. 3 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 1) and 3 from older notices (bids received, middle 6).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

2.5all categories · 36m · n=6 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 6 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

50%all categories · 36m · n=6 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 4 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

15% aboveall categories · 36m · n=4 pairs
Deadline → award date
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.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 3 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

8dall categories · 36m · n=3 notices
Notice updates
i

How often this buyer changes a notice after publishing it.

Middle number of amendments per notice. Deadline extensions and corrections both count.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 24 months: 11 notices.

Last 24 months.

0all categories · 24m · n=11 notices
Awarded without competition
i

How often this buyer awards without a competition.

Direct or limited awards as a share of its notices that say which procedure was used. These routes are legal in defined cases. This is just the record.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 7 notices.

Last 36 months.

0%all categories · 36m · n=7 notices
Bids per lot robust · n=6
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 6 lots on 6 contested notices · all categories, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 50%
  • 2–3 0%
  • 4–6 33%
  • 7+ 17%

Middle value 2.5 · 6 lots on 6 contested notices · all categories.

Winning award vs estimate moderate · n=4
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 4 lot pairs · all categories, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 25%
  • Within ±2% 0%
  • Above estimate 75%

4 lot pairs · all categories.

The market · authority’s region

East of England · Architectural design services (CPV 7122)

contract notices delivered in East of England in 36 months: 22 in CPV 7122 (20 competed, 1 route not published) · 535 in division 71 (390 competed, 77 route not published) · the notice publishes no delivery location, so the authority’s registered region is used

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7122), last 36 months: 13 lots. 4 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 23) and 9 from older notices (bids received, middle 3).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

6CPV 7122 · 36m · n=13 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7122), last 36 months: 13 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

0%CPV 7122 · 36m · n=13 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7122), last 36 months: 4 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

3% belowCPV 7122 · 36m · n=4 pairs
Deadline → award date
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.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7122), last 36 months: 4 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

57dCPV 7122 · 36m · n=4 notices
SME bidders
i

How much of this market goes to small and medium firms.

SME bidders where buyers published the split, otherwise SME winners.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7122), last 36 months: 10 lots.

Last 36 months.

90%CPV 7122 · 36m · n=10 lots
Winners based in the region
i

How much work like this goes to companies based in the delivery region.

Awards in this category delivered here where the winner’s registered address is in the region.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7122), last 36 months: 13 awards.

Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.

Last 36 months.

69%CPV 7122 · 36m · n=13 awards
Bids per lot robust · n=13
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 13 lots on 12 contested notices · CPV 7122, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 0%
  • 2–3 38%
  • 4–6 15%
  • 7+ 46%

Middle value 6 · 13 lots on 12 contested notices · CPV 7122.

Winning award vs estimate moderate · n=4
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 4 lot pairs · CPV 7122, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 50%
  • Within ±2% 0%
  • Above estimate 50%

4 lot pairs · CPV 7122.

moderate · n=4
i

Where this tender’s estimate would land if the usual pattern repeats.

We apply the buyer’s usual movement between estimate and award (or the region’s) to the estimate on this notice.

Based on 4 lots, so only the direction is shown, not a pound figure.

A benchmark, not a price to bid.

The middle award in Bedford College (all categories, n=4 pairs) lands 15% above. Too few pairs to turn into a pound figure with any confidence — read the percentage as a rough direction, not this notice’s estimate converted.
Coverage and what to read with care
  • Each tile explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two columns are never blended and nothing is filled from a UK-wide figure; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
  • Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). About 30 % of award-vs-estimate pairs are exact matches — the buyer published the award at the estimate. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden.
  • “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.

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
Open for tender
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
No (one-off requirement)
First published
28 Sept 2026, 10:06 BST
Last source update
28 Sept 2026, 10:06 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end — 1 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
Authority reference
CA18502
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Architectural design services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077b31 Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Submit via MultiQuote
Submission portal named on this notice: MultiQuote · Who buys & how to bid on MultiQuote
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free
Expression of interest (EOI)
—
Tender submission deadline
30 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
21 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
To access this opportunity, log in to suppliers.multiquote.com ↗ and view the opportunity. If you are not registered with MultiQuote, please visit suppliers.multiquote.com ↗, complete the registration form on the log in page and quote the title and reference of the notice in your registration.
Published estimate £1,166,667 excludes VAT (£1,400,000 including VAT).

Timeline

5 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Tender notice publishedjust passed
    28 Sept 2026, 10:06 BST
  2. Clarification questions byin 23 days
    21 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
  3. Submission deadlinein 32 days
    30 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
  4. Contract startsin 64 days
    1 Dec 2026, 00:00 GMT
  5. Award decision expected byin 65 days
    1 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Nothing awarded yet
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    28 Sept 2026, 10:06 BSTUK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Bedford College

Contracting authorityPublic undertaking GB-PPON: PBCW-2828-YLLW Cauldwell Street, Bedford, East of England, MK42 9AH [email protected] 0123491000

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

  • Conflict of interest declarationtenderConflict of interest declarationNot published

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender