Official UK procurement notice
DDS Service Support Contract 27 -31
Authority: National Highways Limited (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNational Highways is the government company responsible for operating, maintaining, and improving the Strategic Road Network (SRN) in England. Our primary functions are to manage traffic, tackle congestion, provide information to road users and improve safety and journey time reliability, whilst respecting and minimising the adverse impact on the environment.
National Highways are undertaking a preliminary market engagement exercise and would like potential interested suppliers to respond to, as an expression of interest and a measure of their capability in managing the requirements and specification for the forthcoming Dynamic Display Screen Service Support, that will enable operators to deliver event management across the SRN.
CPV: Audio-visual equipment · Closed-circuit surveillance system · Information systems · Networks · Repair and maintenance services of audio-visual and optical equipment · Systems support services · Video-surveillance system
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How National Highways Limited buys System and support services (CPV 7225), and who usually turns up
National Highways Limited’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: System and support services (CPV 7225) →
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 registered in West Midlands (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside West Midlands.
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 87 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 bid8% / 22%
2–346% / 44%
4–633% / 17%
7+13% / 17%
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 estimate27% / 50%
Within ±2%64% / 20%
Above estimate9% / 30%
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 7225Published estimate£500k
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 76 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid7%
2–325%
4–632%
7+37%
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
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 24 Apr 2026, 16:29 BST
- Last source update
- 24 Apr 2026, 16:29 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-037748- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-068b03Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
24 Apr 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 3 dates- Planning notice published179 days ago24 Apr 2026, 16:29 BST
- Market engagement158 days ago15 May 2026, 23:59 BST
This opportunity relates to the provision of a response to a selection of preliminary market engagement questions associated to the Dynamic Display Screen Service Support for National Highways, with supporting documentation which outlines the details of this service.
The Dynamic Display System (DDS) is a video wall for displaying images to assist operators in event management. The DDS is commonly used to display Closed Circuit Tele-Vision (CCTV) images, roadside signalling information, weather, maps and television news channels.
The DDS is Operationally required 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.
The DDS are currently in good working order and is service managed under a single national contract which will come to an end in July 2027.
To receive a copy of the supporting documentation and questions, please contact [email protected] referencing this notice.
The return of the questions will need to be submitted by 5:00pm on Friday 15th May 2026 to the same email address.
This UK2 – Preliminary Market Engagement Notice is issued solely for the purpose of commencing a market consultation exercise and does not constitute any commitment by National Highways to undertake any public procurement exercise.
Interested parties will not be prejudiced by any response or failure to respond to this Notice, nor shall a response to this Notice guarantee an invitation to participate in this market consultation exercise or any future procurement process that National Highways may conduct. This Notice does not constitute a call for competition to procure any works or services and is not published with the intention of reducing the minimum timeframes for the receipt of tenders.
National Highways is not liable for any costs, fees or expenses incurred by any party responding to this Notice or any party who may participate in the market consultation exercise.
We look forward to hearing from you.
- Today20 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 162 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published24 Apr 2026, 16:29 BSTUK2
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