Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 28 Sept 2026, 09:12 BST

Official UK procurement notice

DLSITT1097 - Main Septum Magnets for Diamond-II

Authority: DIAMOND LIGHT SOURCE LIMITED (Central government)

GoodsOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Published estimate£400,000≈ £282k / year · £480,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 28 Oct 202612:00 GMT · 30d 2h left
Contract term 1 yr 5 mostarts 16 Nov 2026
Bids per lot · this authority 3CPV 3163 · n=10 · competition analysis ↓

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Located on the Harwell Science & Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, Diamond Light Source (DLS) is a leading-edge facility for science, engineering and innovation. DLS allows researchers from academia and industry to investigate the structure and behaviour of the world around us at the atomic and molecular level. To continue delivering the world-changing science that Diamond enables, the facility is being upgraded to Diamond-II, a co-ordinated programme of development that combines a major machine upgrade with new instruments and complementary improvements to optics, detectors, sample environment and delivery capabilities, and computing, as well as integrated and correlative methods. This will be transformative in speed and spatial resolution and will offer users streamlined access to enhanced instruments for life and physical sciences.

The scope of this contract is to carry out the detailed design, manufacture, quality control, testing and delivery of two out-of-vacuum main DC/PM septum magnets, with integrated vacuum vessels, on support stands, as well as some spares.

The two septum magnets are physically identical but will be installed with input and output ends inverted for booster extraction bend to the left, and storage ring injection bend to the right. This means that the magnet fields are also inverted, and also that the support frame should be rotationally symmetric so that the services connections are on the outside (bending channel side of the support frame) in each case.

Read the full description (38 more characters)

See specification for further details.

CPV: Magnets

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Lot 1 1 yr 5 moSMEPublished value£400,000
Contract period: 16 Nov 2026 — 10 Apr 2028 (1 yr 5 mo)Eligibility: SME eligibleDelivery: South EastTurnover guideline: ~£570,359/yr≈ 2× annual value
Value
£400,000 exc. VAT · £480,000 inc. VAT
31630000 Magnets

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

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 more
How bids are scored
Quality: 55%Price: 45%
Published sub-criteria (5)
  • Technical Quality — 30%
  • Experience and Capacity — 15%
  • Delivery — 10%
  • Commercial — 5%
  • Price — 40%

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

How DIAMOND LIGHT SOURCE LIMITED buys Magnets (CPV 3163) — and who usually turns up

DIAMOND LIGHT SOURCE LIMITED’s own published record, next to the South East England market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Magnets (CPV 3163) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested contracts only — direct awards (including PA 2023 transparency notices) report one bid by definition and are left out. On Procurement Act 2023 notices the count is the tenders assessed at the final stage, not every submission received; pairs compare like with like (VAT-exclusive, or VAT-inclusive on both sides). Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.

This authority

DIAMOND LIGHT SOURCE LIMITED

contract notices in 36 months: 13 in CPV 3163 (1 without competition) · 21 in division 31 (1 without competition · 1 route not published) · 85 in all categories (4 without competition · 6 route not published)

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this sector (CPV 3163), last 36 months: 10 lots. 3 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 3) and 7 from older notices (bids received, middle 3).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

3CPV 3163 · 36m · n=10 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this sector (CPV 3163), last 36 months: 10 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

20%CPV 3163 · 36m · n=10 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 19 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

21% belowall categories · 36m · n=19 pairs
Deadline → award date
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.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this sector (CPV 3163), last 36 months: 3 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

14dCPV 3163 · 36m · n=3 notices
Notice updates
i

How often this buyer changes a notice after publishing it.

Middle number of amendments per notice. Deadline extensions and corrections both count.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 24 months: 76 notices.

Last 24 months.

3all categories · 24m · n=76 notices
Awarded without competition
i

How often this buyer awards without a competition.

Direct or limited awards as a share of its notices that say which procedure was used. These routes are legal in defined cases. This is just the record.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this sector (CPV 3163), last 36 months: 13 notices.

Last 36 months.

8%CPV 3163 · 36m · n=13 notices
Bids per lot robust · n=10
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 10 lots on 10 contested notices · CPV 3163, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 20%
  • 2–3 40%
  • 4–6 40%
  • 7+ 0%

Middle value 3 · 10 lots on 10 contested notices · CPV 3163.

Winning award vs estimate robust · n=19
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 19 lot pairs · all categories, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 63%
  • Within ±2% 0%
  • Above estimate 37%

19 lot pairs · all categories.

The market · delivery region

South East England · Magnets (CPV 3163)

contract notices delivered in South East England in 36 months: 21 in CPV 3163 (19 competed, 1 route not published) · 242 in division 31 (183 competed, 38 route not published)

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 3163), last 36 months: 14 lots. 4 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 3.5) and 10 from older notices (bids received, middle 3).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

3CPV 3163 · 36m · n=14 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 3163), last 36 months: 14 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

29%CPV 3163 · 36m · n=14 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 3163), last 36 months: 4 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

5% aboveCPV 3163 · 36m · n=4 pairs
Deadline → award date
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.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 3163), last 36 months: 4 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

25dCPV 3163 · 36m · n=4 notices
SME bidders
i

How much of this market goes to small and medium firms.

SME bidders where buyers published the split, otherwise SME winners.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 3163), last 36 months: 9 lots.

Last 36 months.

67%CPV 3163 · 36m · n=9 lots
Winners based in the region
i

How much work like this goes to companies based in the delivery region.

Awards in this category delivered here where the winner’s registered address is in the region.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 3163), last 36 months: 5 awards.

Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.

Last 36 months.

80%CPV 3163 · 36m · n=5 awards
Bids per lot robust · n=14
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 14 lots on 14 contested notices · CPV 3163, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 29%
  • 2–3 36%
  • 4–6 36%
  • 7+ 0%

Middle value 3 · 14 lots on 14 contested notices · CPV 3163.

Winning award vs estimate moderate · n=4
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 4 lot pairs · CPV 3163, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 25%
  • Within ±2% 25%
  • Above estimate 50%

4 lot pairs · CPV 3163.

robust · n=19
i

Where this tender’s estimate would land if the usual pattern repeats.

We apply the buyer’s usual movement between estimate and award (or the region’s) to the estimate on this notice.

Based on this buyer’s own usual movement over 19 lots (all categories), applied to the £400,000 estimate on this notice.

A benchmark, not a price to bid.

The middle award in DIAMOND LIGHT SOURCE LIMITED (all categories, n=19 pairs) lands 21% below: on this notice’s £400,000 that is about £316,400. Context for a bid, not a recommended price.
Coverage and what to read with care
  • Each tile explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two columns are never blended and nothing is filled from a UK-wide figure; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
  • Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). About 30 % of award-vs-estimate pairs are exact matches — the buyer published the award at the estimate. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden.
  • “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Goods
Notice status
Open for tender
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
No (one-off requirement)
First published
28 Sept 2026, 09:12 BST
Last source update
28 Sept 2026, 09:12 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end — 2 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
Authority reference
DLSITT1097
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Magnets
Delivery area
South East (UKJ14)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077b1f Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Submit via portal
Submission portal named on this notice: portal not identified
Electronic submission not allowedLanguage: EN
Expression of interest (EOI)
—
Tender submission deadline
28 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
—
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Not allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Please email tender submission to: diamond.ac.uk ↗ and send a hard copy to Diamond Procurement Diamond House Diamond Light Source Ltd Harwell Science and Innovation Campus Didcot Oxon OX11 0DE UK
Published estimate £400,000 excludes VAT (£480,000 including VAT).

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Tender notice publishedearlier today
    28 Sept 2026, 09:12 BST
  2. Submission deadlinein 30 days
    28 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
  3. Award decision expected byin 36 days
    2 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
  4. Contract startsin 49 days
    16 Nov 2026, 00:00 GMT

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Nothing awarded yet
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    28 Sept 2026, 09:12 BSTUK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

DIAMOND LIGHT SOURCE LIMITED

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-COH: 04375679 · GB-PPON: PNGG-3778-PWBM Diamond House, Didcot, South East, OX11 0DE [email protected]

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

  • Conflict of interest declarationtenderConflict of interest declarationNot published
  • Technical specifications tenderTechnical specificationsVisit our web page: https://tenders.diamond.ac.uk Here Suppliers are required to complete a one-off simple registration form. You are then able to login to register an interest against the tender and download the Tender Documents.

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender