Official UK procurement notice
CEFAS25-122 ITT to provide RPA flights in Sizewell region for BEEMS project
Authority: CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe BEEMS (British EDF Estuarine and Marine Studies) programme is funded by NNB Generation Company Sizewell C (NNB GenCo SZC). Through this programme, Cefas provide authoritative scientific information on the marine and transitional waters in the vicinity of potential new build nuclear power stations and require a Supplier to deliver the element described below.
To support the delivery of the BEEMS Programme, Cefas require the Supplier to provide aerial data collection using a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) in the Sizewell to Thorpeness region on a quarterly basis. It is anticipated that the first flight will be undertaken in March 2026 and the final flight in December 2028 (with extension options as per point 4).
On occasion, additional flights may be required, therefore Cefas requests a day rate cost in Appendix 6, for flights of a similar nature in the vicinity of Sizewell area.
The purpose of this work is to safely conduct regular RPA flights in accordance with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) guidelines at the above locations for the purpose of acquiring survey data to meet environmental monitoring requirements.
The Supplier's flight team will manage the planning, notifications, and safe execution of each survey.
CPV: Survey services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£165,000
- Economic & financial standing
As per Bidder Pack
- Technical & professional ability
As per Bidder Pack
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 (3)
- Technical: 65%
- Cost: 25%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
- Technical
- Social Value
- Cost
- Economic & financial standing
As per Bidder Pack
- Technical & professional ability
As per Bidder Pack
- Price carries 25 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
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
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 15 Dec 2025, 12:49 GMT
- Last source update
- 23 Mar 2026, 09:46 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 30 Jan 2026
- Authority reference
C32142- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-082874- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05f5a7Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
As per Bidder Pack
- Risks
Interaction and/or protests from the public
Due to the location of the service performance and public interest in the SZC project, potential for protests and interactions / interference from public.
This could result in the need to stop flights or reschedule, or requirement for more staff to be on site to help manage the situation, potentially increasing costs and changing timeframes for delivery.
Unable to address risk as neither Cefas or Supplier has control over the public.
Risk assigned to both parties.
Prolonged Adverse Weather
Due to tidal limitations on the surveys, prolonged adverse weather could impact the ability to obtain the dataset for a specific month.
This could result in additional costs and/or contract extension in order to meet the requirements.
Unable to address the risk upfront as weather is beyond control of Buyer or Supplier.
Proportionate mitigation for some weather risk is provided for in the Contract.
Risk assigned to both parties.
Change in frequency of flight requirements
Due to changing schedule at SZC, frequency and or timing of flights could change. This may result in the need for additional surveys or a different schedule of surveys than those planned.
This could result in additional costs in order to meet the requirements.
Unable to address the risk upfront as neither Buyer or Supplier has control over the SZC project scheduling.
Proportionate allowance within the estimated total value is provided for in the Contract.
Risk assigned to Buyer.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 19 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 12 Jan 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
atamis-9529.my.site.com/s/Welcome ↗
All bids to be submitted via the above eProcurement system.
Timeline
15 Dec 2025 → 23 Mar 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published306 days ago15 Dec 2025, 12:49 GMT
- Clarification questions by278 days ago12 Jan 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission deadline271 days ago19 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by259 days ago30 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent256 days ago3 Feb 2026
- Contract starts247 days ago12 Feb 2026
- Standstill ends246 days ago12 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Latest notice published208 days ago23 Mar 2026, 09:46 GMT
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 15 Dec 2025- Tender notice published15 Dec 2025, 12:49 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published3 Feb 2026, 14:56 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete3 Feb 2026, 14:56 GMT
- Contract signature expected16 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published23 Mar 2026, 09:46 GMTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| StirlingX LimitedSMECEFAS25-122 Contract to provide RPA flights in Sizewell region for BEEMS project16 Feb 2026 – 31 Dec 2028 · up to 31 Dec 2030Extensions: 2 x 12 months each | £150,000 | 2 Feb 2026standstill to 12 Feb 2026 | Standstill |
| StirlingX LimitedSME | — | — | Awarded |
Contracts
CEFAS25-122 Contract to provide RPA flights in Sizewell region for BEEMS project · StirlingX LimitedSME
- Signed
- 18 Mar 2026
- Value
- £180,000
- Period
- 18 Mar 2026 – 31 Dec 2028 · up to 31 Dec 2030 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- 2 x 12 months
No agreed KPIs: Deliverables clearly set out in specification, KPIs not applicable to this type of service Contract.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4final-stage tenders | 4 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- StirlingX LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender