Official UK procurement notice
Connected Destinations – England’s Heartland
Authority: WEST MIDLANDS GROWTH COMPANY LIMITED (Public body)
WMGC aims to appoint suppliers to support them in delivering the aims and outputs of year 1 England’s Heartland Connected Destinations project, up to end of March 2027. The project has been formed through a partnership across a cohort of Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs). Published lot titles: LOT 1 – Product & Experience Audit; LOT 2 – Commercial Partnership Development & Market Testing; LOT 3 – Product & Experience Business Support & Development.
What is being bought3 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionWMGC aims to appoint suppliers to support them in delivering the aims and outputs of year 1 England’s Heartland Connected Destinations project, up to end of March 2027.
The project has been formed through a partnership across a cohort of Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs). This includes Bristol and Bath through Oxfordshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Coventry and Warwickshire LVEP to Birmingham, Solihull and Black Country LVEP, using the geography of established travel corridors to encourage the movement of visitors out of London (a key objective of the bid) facilitated by ease of travel and familiar places (such as Bicester Village, The Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon for example) to punctuate journeys towards less well-known product and experiences.
Our aim through the bid is to strengthen partnerships with inbound flights to Birmingham and Bristol (while acknowledging the reality that the majority of visitors still arrive into Heathrow) – and to facilitate onward journeys by public transport to accessible, sustainable and travel trade ready products and experiences.
Project Objectives
- Better connected air and public transport routes and ticketing for visitors
- New / developed accessible and sustainable trade ready product for contract (themes: food & drink; culture & heritage; nature & wellness)
- Motivation to travel outside London for growth market segments; domestic and international.
Outcomes
Longer dwell time, increased spend and higher satisfaction of visitors to England.
This is an open advertised, below threshold Procurement requiring the submission of proposals, pricing information and mandatory supplier information.
This procurement is formed of three Lots:
- Lot 1 – Product Experience & Audit
- Lot 2 – Commercial Partnership Development & Market Testing
- Lot 3 - Product & Experience Business Support & Development
Suppliers may bid for either one, all or any combination of Lots.
CPV: Development consultancy services · Research and development consultancy services · Research and development services and related consultancy services · Research consultancy services
Lots and requirements (3)Procurement structure
3 lots · all with a published value (£93,000 together)Lot #1Product & Experience AuditPublished value£10,000
The appointed supplier will undertake a comprehensive review and update of the existing visitor
product and experience audit across the project geography. The audit will cover relevant visitor
attractions, experiences, activities and accommodation providers, establishing a clear understanding
of the existing visitor offer and identifying opportunities to support the development of commercially
viable travel trade itineraries.
Lot #2Commercial Partnership Development & Market TestingPublished value£49,000
The appointed supplier will identify, engage and develop working relationships with suitable UK
based Destination Management Companies (DMCs), ground handlers and other relevant travel trade
partners with the capability and appetite to develop and commercialise new itineraries across
England's Heartland destinations.
Lot #3Product & Experience Business Support & DevelopmentPublished value£34,000
The appointed supplier will develop a business recruitment and engagement plan, including proposed
timelines and an approach to selecting and prioritising businesses for support. The approach will be
agreed with the England’s Heartland project team.
The supplier will use the trade readiness assessment methodology developed through LOT 1 as the
starting point for assessing participating businesses. This will ensure a consistent approach to
assessing readiness, identifying development needs, and monitoring progress across the project.
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).
- Turnover usually expected: about £20,000 – ~£98,000 per lot (twice each lot's annual value).
Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How WEST MIDLANDS GROWTH COMPANY LIMITED buys Research consultancy services (CPV 7321), and who usually turns up
WEST MIDLANDS GROWTH COMPANY LIMITED’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: Research consultancy services (CPV 7321) →
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 West Midlands.
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 28 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% / 14%
2–30% / 7%
4–640% / 36%
7+60% / 43%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Awards below, close to or above the estimate, per lot. The buyer side adds below-threshold contracts with a pre-award estimate; an award inside a published range counts as close.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate45% / 59%
Within ±2%55% / 41%
Above estimate0% / 0%
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 #1Product & Experience AuditCPV 73Published estimate£10k
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 73. The comparison uses that group.
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 23 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid4%
2–326%
4–630%
7+39%
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.
Lot #2Commercial Partnership Development & Market TestingCPV 73Published estimate£49k
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 73. The comparison uses that group.
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 23 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid4%
2–326%
4–630%
7+39%
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.
Lot #3Product & Experience Business Support & DevelopmentCPV 73Published estimate£34k
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 73. The comparison uses that group.
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 23 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid4%
2–326%
4–630%
7+39%
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 and Contracts Finder), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly. Contracts Finder appears in live search, the Retender Radar, contract pages, organisation counts, the earlier contracts and past suppliers on a tender's competition panel, the buyer's decision figure and its award against estimate; the other analytical figures are built from Find a Tender notices.
- 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
- Below threshold - open competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- 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
- 11 Nov 2026, 13:11 GMT
- Last source update
- 11 Nov 2026, 13:11 GMT
- Authority reference
2026-WMGC-0885- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-107122- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07b9a1Find a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via In-tend- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 30 Nov 2026, 10:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- —
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
Submissions must be made via the Intend portal supplier.in-tend.co.uk/wmgrowth/home ↗
Timeline
11 Nov 2026 → 9 Dec 2026 · 3 dates- Tender notice published1h ago11 Nov 2026, 13:11 GMT
- Today11 Nov 2026
- Submission deadlinein 18 days30 Nov 2026, 10:00 GMT
- Contract startsin 27 days9 Dec 2026
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published11 Nov 2026, 13:11 GMTUK4
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
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Full tender document set can be accessed via our Intend e-procurement portal https://supplier.in-tend.co.uk/wmgrowth/home
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender