Official UK procurement notice
Byker District Heat Network
Authority: Karbon Homes (Public body)·On behalf of: HNDC
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionKarbon Homes invites tenders for the design, build, finance, operation and maintenance of the decarbonised Byker District Heat Network in Newcastle upon Tyne. The Byker estate is Grade II* listed, covers around 80 hectares and is live and occupied throughout. There are 1,985 connections, being 1,815 Karbon Homes connections and 170 freeholder and non-domestic connections presently supplied by Newcastle City Council, of which 1,978 are residential and 7 are non residential. The network is served by the Walker Road energy centre and twelve substations.
A preliminary market engagement notice for this procurement, reference 2026/S 000-060054, was published on 25 June 2026. The description of the scheme in that notice has been superseded and tenderers should refer to the information contained within this tender pack.
All documents relating to this tender are available to download from the Panacea e-Sourcing portal.
Submission Instructions:
Electronically via the e-Sourcing portal. Suppliers must submit one copy of their tender electronically, with any additional documents required or requested. Documents must be compatible with Microsoft Office or Adobe/PDF.
Should you require technical support with the e-Sourcing portal please email them directly at:
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 0207 976 0116
Tenders must be submitted using the above e-Sourcing portal. Tenders submitted via postal, or email methods will not be accepted.
- How the procedure runs: Stage one RFX Questionnaire will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis and in accordance with the information detailed within the ITT. In instances where a submission is rejected at this point, the Supplier will automatically be disqualified and will not progress to the next stage. Submissions which have met the minimum standards will be shortlisted and stage two and submissions will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation assessment process as described below and as set out in the award criteria, within the ITT. Submissions will be ranked as part of assessment at stage two, only the highest ranked supplier will progress onto stage three. Subject to Board approval the Authorities intension is to enter into a PCSA agreement with the highest ranked supplier, whilst negotiating the final terms of the concession agreement. Any negotiation will be based on the agreement included in the tender pack, and the Authority reservice the right to engage with the next ranked supplier from stage two should any discussion become protracted or in the opinion of the Authority be unlikely to result an agreed contract.
CPV: District heating · Heating-system design services · Mechanical and electrical engineering services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£145,000,000
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).
Published sub-criteria (12)
- Development to contract close, consents and heritage: 8%
- Delivery in a live, occupied, listed estate: 12%
- Generation, storage, network and capacity for growth: 12%
- Operation, maintenance, lifecycle and handback: 10%
- Customers, vulnerability and regulatory compliance: 8%
- F1 Hurdle equity internal rate of return: 4%
- F2 Financial model: 6%
- F3 Tariff and landlord contribution: 16%
- F4 Pre-construction services contribution: 5%
- F5 Delivery stage funding: 5%
- F6 Grant drawdown and defrayal: 4%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (12)
- Development to contract close, consents and heritage
- Delivery in a live, occupied, listed estate
- Generation, storage, network and capacity for growth
- Operation, maintenance, lifecycle and handback
- Customers, vulnerability and regulatory compliance
- Social Value
- F1 Hurdle equity internal rate of return
- F2 Financial model
- F3 Tariff and landlord contribution
- F4 Pre-construction services contribution
- F5 Delivery stage funding
- F6 Grant drawdown and defrayal
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Karbon Homes buys Steam, hot water and associated products (CPV 0932), and who usually turns up
Karbon Homes’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Steam, hot water and associated products (CPV 0932) →
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.
Here, local means the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside North East England.
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.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 29 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 bid0% / 0%
2–330% / 29%
4–633% / 0%
7+37% / 71%
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 estimate14% / 17%
Within ±2%71% / 67%
Above estimate14% / 17%
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 0932Published estimate£145m
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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid15%
2–345%
4–632%
7+7%
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.
Based on 3 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£145m
Estimate£145m
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
EDFLarge | £29m16 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 1 live · £81k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | no comparable pairs |
| £34m13 awards in 36m · last 4 months ago | 2 live · £11m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=1 | |
| £254m6 awards in 36m · last 4 months ago | 3 live · £253m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 23% below n=4 | |
Calor Gas LimitedLarge | £1.1m4 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | 1 live · £48k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | no comparable pairs |
| £280m8 awards in 36m · last 5 months ago | 4 live · £276m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 26% below n=26 |
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- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible 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
- Concession
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 25 Jun 2026, 18:28 BST
- Last source update
- 19 Oct 2026, 20:10 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 11 Dec 2026
- Authority reference
202606 - GS32- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-098720- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06bd8cFind a Tender
- How it runs
Stage one RFX Questionnaire will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis and in accordance with the information detailed within the ITT. In instances where a submission is rejected at this point, the Supplier will automatically be disqualified and will not progress to the next stage.
Submissions which have met the minimum standards will be shortlisted and stage two and submissions will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation assessment process as described below and as set out in the award criteria, within the ITT.
Submissions will be ranked as part of assessment at stage two, only the highest ranked supplier will progress onto stage three. Subject to Board approval the Authorities intension is to enter into a PCSA agreement with the highest ranked supplier, whilst negotiating the final terms of the concession agreement. Any negotiation will be based on the agreement included in the tender pack, and the Authority reservice the right to engage with the next ranked supplier from stage two should any discussion become protracted or in the opinion of the Authority be unlikely to result an agreed contract.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Panacea- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 20 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 11 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
25 Jun 2026 → 1 Jan 2027 · 7 dates- Planning notice published118 days ago25 Jun 2026, 18:28 BST
- Market engagement21 days ago30 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
Indicative Timeframes
The following indicative timeframes are set out to inform respondents. They are subject to refinement based on SMT feedback and GHNF funding conditions.
- Issue of SMT and prospectus: July 2026
- SMT response deadline: 17th July 2026
- Market engagement sessions (1:1 / group): August 2026
- Publication of refined opportunity shape / procurement strategy: August 2026
- Procurement launch: August – September 2026
- Preferred partner identified: September 2026
- Contract award / financial close: March 2027
- Construction commencement: April 2027
- GHNF construction spend-by deadline: Financial Year End 2028
- Scheme in service / operational handover: 2028 Onward
- Tender notice published2 days ago19 Oct 2026, 20:10 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Clarification questions byin 21 days11 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 29 days20 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 51 days11 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 71 days1 Jan 2027
Notice history
6 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 25 Jun 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published25 Jun 2026, 18:28 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published19 Oct 2026, 20:10 BSTUK4
- Published value published: £145,000,00019 Oct 2026, 20:10 BST
- Status changed to active19 Oct 2026, 20:10 BST
- Procurement method changed19 Oct 2026, 20:10 BST
- Deadline published: 20 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT19 Oct 2026, 20:10 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- HNDCProcuring entityITT preparation and evaluation support.
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender