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Published 25 Sept 2026, 11:38 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Automated Distribution and Manufacturing Centre (ADMC)

Authority: Ashfield District Council (Local council)·On behalf of: Nottinghamshire County Council

ServicesAbove threshold
Sectors: Real estate services (70)Research & Development (R&D) (73)Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery: East Midlands (UKF15)
Published estimate£1,000,000≈ £100k / year · £1,200,000 inc. VAT
Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice
Contract term 10 yrsup to 15 yrs with extensions · starts 31 Mar 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Automated Distribution and Manufacturing Centre (ADMC)

Procurement Early Engagement Notice

Purpose

This notice is to make potential contractors aware that, via the Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) procurement team, Ashfield District Council (ADC) will commence a process to appoint a commercial operator for their Automated Distribution and Manufacturing Centre (ADMC).

The publication of this notice commences the preliminary market engagement stage of the procurement process. The procurement is expected to follow a Competitive Flexible Procedure, based on the Procurement Act 2023.

Background

The ADMC is a flagship project for Ashfield District Council. The ADMC will work with businesses to create and implement bespoke automation strategies and solutions that improve productivity and enable prosperity and growth.

The ADMC will be a 3,000m2 purpose built, multifunctional, automation centre. Its vision is based on four “pillars” of activity:

• Research and Development

• Prototyping and Proof of Principle

• Showcasing and Demonstration

• Skills and Training

The ADMC will be at the centre of a cluster of automation businesses, some of which will be located on the adjacent Ashfield Innovation and Technology Park that is also in development.

Read the full description (2,917 more characters)

The ADMC building is expected to be completed by December 2027. More details can be found on the ADMC website at www.theadmc.co.uk.

Proposed Governance and Operation

ADC confirmed its positioning regarding governance and operation of the ADMC in January 2025. It has resolved to carry out a public procurement procedure to appoint an external organisation to run the ADMC.

ADC believe that this contracted approach will allow the ADMC to be operated effectively and efficiently such that it achieves its twin goals of supporting the greater adoption of automation within local and regional businesses and achieving financial sustainability.

A previous procurement process to appoint an operator for the ADMC took place in late 2025. This process was ultimately unsuccessful in appointing an operator due to a combination of factors including feedback from potential bidders about the scope of the contract as well as subsidy and compliance issues.

ADC aims to have a commercial operator appointed in 2027.

Preliminary Market Engagement stage of the Procurement Process

The procurement is expected to follow a Competitive Flexible Procedure, following the Procurement Act 2023. This notice commences the procurement process via a preliminary market engagement stage.

The preliminary market engagement stage is intended to allow potential contractors to gain a more detailed understanding of the ADMC, its progress, and the procurement process being undertaken. It will also support NCC and ADC to develop the first stage tender by helping to:

• Develop the requirements and approach to the procurement.

• Design the conditions of participation and award criteria.

• Inform the scope of works being contracted and whether these works should be split into separate lots.

• Prepare the tender notice and associated tender documents.

• Identify likely contractual terms.

• Building capacity in relation to the contract being awarded.

NCC/ADC proposes to run initial group engagement events via Teams on two dates:

• Tuesday 10th November 10:00 – 11:00

• Thursday 12th November 10:00 – 11:00

Further events may be run before the end of November 2026 as demand requires.

NCC/ADC will be having individual discussions with potential contractors. Contractors will be invited to express an interest in being part of those discussions following the group engagement events.

All information and material collected from these pre-market engagement activities will be documented and form part of the subsequent tender pack, respecting commercial confidentiality.

Contact

To express interest in being part of the Preliminary Market Engagement stage of this

procurement process and to be sent the ADMC - Intent to Go to Market - Power Point

Information Pack, please contact Jamie Burton - [email protected]

Please feel free to submit any clarification questions to Jamie Burton -

[email protected] NCC/ADC will respond to these promptly.

CPV: Business development consultancy services · Commercial property management services · Research and development services and related consultancy services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Lot 1PlannedRenewal 10 yrs
Contract period: 31 Mar 2027 — 31 Mar 2037 (10 yrs) · up to 15 yrs with extensionsDelivery: East Midlands
Extensions
Extension options published
70332200 Commercial property management services73000000 Research and development services and related consultancy services79411100 Business development consultancy services

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
No (one-off requirement)
First published
25 Sept 2026, 11:38 BST
Last source update
25 Sept 2026, 11:38 BST
Authority reference
DN830884
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Business development consultancy servicesCommercial property management servicesResearch and development services and related consultancy services
Delivery area
East Midlands (UKF15)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077a58

How it was run

Submission deadline
—

Timeline

3 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Planning notice publishedearlier today
    25 Sept 2026, 11:38 BST
  2. Market engagementin 52 days
    16 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
    Automated Distribution and Manufacturing Centre (ADMC) Procurement Early Engagement Notice Purpose This notice is to make potential contractors aware that, via the Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) procurement team, Ashfield District Council (ADC) will commence a process to appoint a commercial more…operator for their Automated Distribution and Manufacturing Centre (ADMC). The publication of this notice commences the preliminary market engagement stage of the procurement process. The procurement is expected to follow a Competitive Flexible Procedure, based on the Procurement Act 2023. Background The ADMC is a flagship project for Ashfield District Council. The ADMC will work with businesses to create and implement bespoke automation strategies and solutions that improve productivity and enable prosperity and growth. The ADMC will be a 3,000m2 purpose built, multifunctional, automation centre. Its vision is based on four “pillars” of activity: • Research and Development • Prototyping and Proof of Principle • Showcasing and Demonstration • Skills and Training The ADMC will be at the centre of a cluster of automation businesses, some of which will be located on the adjacent Ashfield Innovation and Technology Park that is also in development. The ADMC building is expected to be completed by December 2027. More details can be found on the ADMC website at www.theadmc.co.uk. Proposed Governance and Operation ADC confirmed its positioning regarding governance and operation of the ADMC in January 2025. It has resolved to carry out a public procurement procedure to appoint an external organisation to run the ADMC. ADC believe that this contracted approach will allow the ADMC to be operated effectively and efficiently such that it achieves its twin goals of supporting the greater adoption of automation within local and regional businesses and achieving financial sustainability. A previous procurement process to appoint an operator for the ADMC took place in late 2025. This process was ultimately unsuccessful in appointing an operator due to a combination of factors including feedback from potential bidders about the scope of the contract as well as subsidy and compliance issues. ADC aims to have a commercial operator appointed in 2027. Preliminary Market Engagement stage of the Procurement Process The procurement is expected to follow a Competitive Flexible Procedure, following the Procurement Act 2023. This notice commences the procurement process via a preliminary market engagement stage. The preliminary market engagement stage is intended to allow potential contractors to gain a more detailed understanding of the ADMC, its progress, and the procurement process being undertaken. It will also support NCC and ADC to develop the first stage tender by helping to: • Develop the requirements and approach to the procurement. • Design the conditions of participation and award criteria. • Inform the scope of works being contracted and whether these works should be split into separate lots. • Prepare the tender notice and associated tender documents. • Identify likely contractual terms. • Building capacity in relation to the contract being awarded. NCC/ADC proposes to run initial group engagement events via Teams on two dates: • Tuesday 10th November 10:00 – 11:00 • Thursday 12th November 10:00 – 11:00 Further events may be run before the end of November 2026 as demand requires. NCC/ADC will be having individual discussions with potential contractors. Contractors will be invited to express an interest in being part of those discussions following the group engagement events. All information and material collected from these pre-market engagement activities will be documented and form part of the subsequent tender pack, respecting commercial confidentiality. Contact To express interest in being part of the Preliminary Market Engagement stage of this procurement process and to be sent the ADMC - Intent to Go to Market - Power Point Information Pack, please contact Jamie Burton - [email protected] Please feel free to submit any clarification questions to Jamie Burton - [email protected] NCC/ADC will respond to these promptly.
  3. Contract startsin 186 days
    31 Mar 2027, 01:00 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
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. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    25 Sept 2026, 11:38 BSTUK2

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

Ashfield District Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PMGL-3337-TLYD Urban Road, Kirkby in Ashfield, East Midlands, NG17 8DA

Other public bodies

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure