Official UK procurement notice
Assessment and Recovery Centres (Clinical Delivery Partners, Perfusion Technology, Organ Storage Solutions & Digital Delivery Partners)
Authority: NHS Blood and Transplant (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is progressing with the Assessment and Recovery (ARCs) Programme, an innovative transformation that aims to increase organ transplant activity, through increasing organ utilisation and the adoption of machine perfusion technology.
To support the next phase of ARCs, NHSBT anticipates undertaking separate procurement processes for the following four elements:
- Up to three clinical delivery partners, to act as Centres of Excellence and undertake the preservation and assessment interventions as part of a national service (Indicative contract value: £20m per partner)
- Machine perfusion technology services (lung, liver, and kidney; normothermic and hypothermic) (Indicative contract value: £30m)
- Transportable organ storage solutions (lung, liver, and kidney) (Indicative contract value: £5m)
- Digital delivery partners to ensure UK organ offering is adapted and fully compliant with relevant standards, to support the delivery of the national ARCs model (Indicative contract value: £10m)
Procurement will be phased and NHSBT are now starting engagement with suppliers who can meet requirements for this programme.
The preliminary market engagement described in this notice is intended to inform NHSBT’s commercial strategy, requirements, procurement approach and market understanding for these separate elements. NHSBT intends to hold an initial ARCs programme launch engagement session covering all four elements at a high level, followed by separate, element-specific market engagement activities as required.
For the clinical delivery partner element only, NHSBT anticipates that participation in any subsequent procurement will be limited to current UK NHS Transplant Centres. This reflects the clinical, operational, governance and pathway requirements of the national ARCs model. This requirement does not apply to the machine perfusion technology services, transportable organ storage solutions or digital delivery partner elements.
NHSBT anticipates undertaking separate procurement processes for the four elements described in this notice. The final procurement route, contract models and commercial structure for each element will be informed by the outcome of preliminary market engagement.
Contract values are indicative only, non-binding and may be subject to change following preliminary market engagement and further development of the requirements.
NHSBT may refine the scope, procurement routes, commercial model, contract structure, timescales and estimated values following market engagement. Participation in this preliminary market engagement does not constitute a commitment by NHSBT to commence any procurement process or award any contract.
CPV: IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · IT software development services · IT software package · Medical hospital services · Perfusion pumps · Perfusion solutions · Project management consultancy services · Services provided by transplant organ banks · Software consultancy services · Surgical hospital services · System implementation planning services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How NHS Blood and Transplant buys Systems and technical consultancy services (CPV 7222), and who usually turns up
NHS Blood and Transplant’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: Systems and technical consultancy services (CPV 7222) →
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 South West England (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 17 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 bid33% / 27%
2–345% / 36%
4–69% / 18%
7+12% / 18%
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 estimate46% / 29%
Within ±2%23% / 50%
Above estimate31% / 21%
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 4212Published estimate£68m
This lot is listed as CPV 4212. The table above uses the notice category.
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 21 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid10%
2–343%
4–638%
7+10%
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
- 8 Jun 2026, 13:03 BST
- Last source update
- 8 Jun 2026, 13:03 BST
- Authority reference
C452060- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-053767- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06afb3Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
8 Jun 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 4 dates- Planning notice published137 days ago8 Jun 2026, 13:03 BST
- Market engagement87 days ago27 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
NHSBT will be holding preliminary market engagement activities to inform the next phase of the Assessment and Recovery Centres programme and the development of the procurement strategy for the four anticipated procurement elements described in this notice.
NHSBT intends to hold an initial online ARCs programme launch engagement session on Tuesday 28 July 2026 at 13:30. This session will provide an overview of the ARCs programme, the anticipated national service model, the four proposed procurement elements, indicative timescales and the intended approach to further market engagement.
Following the launch session, NHSBT expects to undertake separate, element-specific engagement activities for each of the proposed procurement activities.
The format of any further engagement may include written supplier feedback, clarification questions, supplier questionnaires, group sessions, one-to-one meetings or other engagement activities. NHSBT will determine the appropriate format for each element based on the nature of the market, the information required and the level of supplier interest.
Suppliers may participate in engagement for one, more than one, or all of the elements where relevant to their capability and experience.
Participation in the launch session or any follow-up engagement is not mandatory and will not be a condition of participation in any subsequent procurement.
Suppliers are asked to register on Atamis at atamis-1928.my.site.com/s/Welcome ↗ and search for Project Reference C452060. All information and documentation released during this engagement, including materials from the launch session and relevant questions and responses, will be made available through the Atamis portal. NHSBT intends to make a more detailed outline of the anticipated requirements available prior to the launch session.
Attendance at this session is not mandatory and participation in this early market engagement does not constitute a commitment by NHSBT to launch a procurement process or to award any contract(s). NHSBT reserves the right to withdraw, amend, suspend, or abandon any procurement process at any time without liability.
No remuneration, expenses, or other compensation will be paid to organisations taking part. Suppliers should only participate on the basis that they fully understand and accept this position.
- Today23 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 10 days1 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 160 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published8 Jun 2026, 13:03 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