Official UK procurement notice
Army Foundation College - Harrogate
Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Ministry of Defence (MOD) is considering future arrangements for the continued operation of the Army Foundation College (Harrogate) following the expiry of the existing Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract.
The Army Foundation College (Harrogate) delivers Phase 1 military training for Junior Soldiers aged 16–18.
Scope includes Hard FM, Soft FM, Healthcare, Learning, Clerical, & IT. The Army is also considering whether additional capacity (and therefore additional Infrastructure) may be required at the site.
The MOD plans to procure these services in the future. This notice is issued for information and market awareness purposes only.
CPV: Accommodation cleaning services · Accommodation management services · Building and facilities management services · Canteen and catering services · Catering services · Facilities management services · Operation of an educational centre · Personnel-training services · School catering services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Ministry of Defence buys Miscellaneous business-related services (CPV 7999), and who usually turns up
Ministry of Defence’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Miscellaneous business-related services (CPV 7999) →
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.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in Greater London (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 69 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?
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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 bid31% / 10%
2–350% / 34%
4–619% / 41%
7+0% / 14%
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 estimate53% / 63%
Within ±2%6% / 25%
Above estimate41% / 13%
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 7999Published estimate£170m
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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 29 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid10%
2–334%
4–641%
7+14%
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
- 13 Feb 2026, 14:40 GMT
- Last source update
- 24 Apr 2026, 12:30 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-037562- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-065418Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
13 Feb 2026 → 1 Jan 2029 · 5 dates- Planning notice published254 days ago13 Feb 2026, 14:40 GMT
- Latest notice published184 days ago24 Apr 2026, 12:30 BST
- Market engagement170 days ago8 May 2026, 23:59 BST
Request for Information (RFI) Details
Interested suppliers are invited to provide a response to the Request for Information (RFI) in the link provided: contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opport… ↗
The Authority is seeking feedback from Industry to better understand the current market position for the requirement outlined above and attached.
For full details and question set please see the attachment 20260424-715777470 – Army Foundation College – Harrogate – RFI-O.
Clarification questions can be submitted to [email protected] until 23:59 (GMT) on 30 April 2026
The final date for the Authority to respond to clarification questions is 23:59 (GMT) 05 May 2026.
Responses must be submitted to: [email protected] by 23.59 (GMT) on 08 May 2026
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The Authority is conducting Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) to inform Suppliers of an upcoming requirement and to gather information, ascertain the level of interest, gain insight into risks and issues, and inform the commercial and procurement strategies for the provision of services required in the running of the Army Foundation College at Harrogate.
Interested suppliers are invited to participate in the following activities:
- Industry Briefing Day with potential tenderers
- Request for Information (RFI) Questionnaire
How to Participate:
Industry Briefing Day
- Date/Time: 10:00 (GMT) on 16 April 2026
- Location: Army Instructor School (AIS) Lecture Theatre, Army Training Centre Pirbright, Surrey, GU24 0QQ
- Registration: Potential bidders interested in participating must notify the MOD point of contact, Chris Thompson at [email protected] by 17:00 (GMT) on 10 April 2026. Please include the following details in your registration email:
o Company name
o Names, positions, and email addresses of attendees (attendees are limited to 3 per company)
- Presentation Materials: Slides from the Industry Briefing Day will be uploaded to the Defence Sourcing Portal following the event.
This is an excellent opportunity for suppliers to engage with the Authority, gain a better understanding of the requirements, and provide valuable input to shape the procurement process.
We look forward to your participation.
,
- Today25 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 80 days13 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts1 Jan 2029
Notice history
5 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 13 Feb 2026- Pipeline notice published13 Feb 2026, 14:40 GMTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published19 Feb 2026, 10:48 GMTUK2
- Published value published: £170,000,00019 Feb 2026, 10:48 GMT
- Preliminary market engagement notice published16 Mar 2026, 13:45 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published24 Apr 2026, 12:30 BSTUK2
Published amendments (2)
The changes to the notice are: Engagement: Change of date and venue for the Event Change of deadline to respond and MOD Point of Contact CPV codes. Additional CPV Codes added 79993000 – Building and facilities management services, 55500000 – Canteen and catering services and 55520000 – Catering services
The changes to the notice are: Engagement: RFI Published- Opportunity Notice- https://contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opportunity/detail?opportunityId=61016 Engagement: Change of date and venue for the Event Change of deadline to respond and MOD Point of Contact CPV codes. Additional CPV Codes added 79993000 – Building and facilities management services, 55500000 – Canteen and catering services a…
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2026-02: 1 release · 13 Feb 2026
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 (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender