Official UK procurement notice
Construction and commission of modular rig
Authority: NATIONAL NUCLEAR LABORATORY LIMITED
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionUKNNL is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced contractors to support the assembly, installation verification, and inactive commissioning of a new modular experimental rig at the Preston facility.
The rig comprises a modular, three-storey structure incorporating multiple process and utility services. The appointed contractor will be responsible for mechanical assembly, installation checks, and inactive commissioning (without uranics) to enable active commissioning (with uranics) by others.
- Scope of Work
The contractor will be expected to undertake, as a minimum:
Mechanical Assembly
- Offloading, positioning, and installation of prefabricated rig modules
- Mechanical assembly and integration of modules to form the complete structure
- Installation of access platforms, supports, and ancillary equipment
- Alignment, fixing, and structural integrity checks
Interface & Service Readiness
- Preparation and verification of interfaces for:
o Gas services
o Extraction/ventilation
o Fluids
o Electrical supplies
- Coordination with service installation contractors
- Ensuring connection points are accessible, correctly labelled, and compliant with drawings/specifications
Electrical, Controls and Instrumentation:
- Cross module connections
- Final install
- Connection to Pilot Plant electrical distribution network
- Project Overview
UKNNL is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced contractors to support the assembly, installation verification, and inactive commissioning of a new modular experimental rig at the Preston facility.
The rig comprises a modular, three-storey structure incorporating multiple process and utility services. The appointed contractor will be responsible for mechanical assembly, installation checks, and inactive commissioning (without uranics) to enable active commissioning (with uranics) by others.
________________________________________
- Scope of Work
The contractor will be expected to undertake, as a minimum:
Mechanical Assembly
- Offloading, positioning, and installation of prefabricated rig modules
- Mechanical assembly and integration of modules to form the complete structure
- Installation of access platforms, supports, and ancillary equipment
- Alignment, fixing, and structural integrity checks
Interface & Service Readiness
- Preparation and verification of interfaces for:
o Gas services
o Extraction/ventilation
o Fluids
o Electrical supplies
- Coordination with service installation contractors
- Ensuring connection points are accessible, correctly labelled, and compliant with drawings/specifications
Electrical, Controls and Instrumentation:
- Cross module connections
- Final install
- Connection to Pilot Plant electrical distribution network
Installation Verification
- Completion of installation checks against drawings and specifications
- QA/QC inspections and documentation
- Identification and resolution of defects or non-conformances
- As-built documentation and redlining
Inactive Commissioning
- Mechanical completion checks
- Pressure/leak testing (where applicable)
- Functional checks (non-energised / non-process)
- Safety and compliance verification
- Handover documentation and commissioning packs
________________________________________
- Contractor Requirements
Interested parties should demonstrate:
- Experience assembling modular or multi-storey industrial/process rigs or plant
- Experience working with multi-disciplinary service interfaces (gas, fluids, extraction, electrical)
- Commissioning and mechanical completion experience
- Strong health, safety, and quality management systems to comply with CDM regulations
- Ability to work within an operational facility environment
- Relevant certifications and competencies
________________________________________
- Deliverables
The appointed contractor will be expected to provide:
- Method statements and risk assessments
- Installation and commissioning plans
- Inspection and test records
- Mechanical completion dossiers
- As-built documentation
- Handover pack
________________________________________
- Programme (Indicative)
- Site readiness: June 2026
- Assembly period: 3 months
- Handover to active commissioning: September 2026
CPV: Construction work · Installation services (except software)
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How NATIONAL NUCLEAR LABORATORY LIMITED buys Construction work (CPV 45), and who usually turns up
NATIONAL NUCLEAR LABORATORY 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: Construction work (CPV 45) →
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.
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 45 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 bid17% / 12%
2–367% / 27%
4–617% / 30%
7+0% / 31%
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 estimate42%
Within ±2%31%
Above estimate27%
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 45Estimate not published
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 45. 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 1,732 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid12%
2–327%
4–630%
7+31%
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
- Works
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- 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
- 9 Feb 2026, 11:57 GMT
- Last source update
- 9 Feb 2026, 11:57 GMT
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-011320- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-064afbFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
9 Feb 2026 → 1 Jun 2026 · 3 dates- Planning notice published260 days ago9 Feb 2026, 11:57 GMT
- Market engagement248 days ago20 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
This exercise is an Expression of interest and is part of a pre-tender market consultation, it does not constitute a formal procurement process. The purpose of this exercise is to assess the capabilities within current markets to delivery this service.
Company Name :United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory
Delivery address: Springfields, Salwick, Preston, Lancashire.
PR4 0XJ
Contact :[email protected]
Opportunity to attend site for pre-tender engagement will be provided depending on EOI received
- Contract starts148 days ago1 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published9 Feb 2026, 11:57 GMTUK2
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