Official UK procurement notice
Coach and Minibus Framework
Authority: University of East Anglia (Education)
What is being bought3 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThe University of East Anglia have a requirement for the transportation of Students, Faculty Staff, Guests, Sports Teams and Business professionals throughout the academic year, to a number of local and national destinations.
The Framework will cover the provision of:
- Coach hire (various capacities)
- Minibus hire (with driver)
- Local, regional and national journeys
- One-way and return journeys
- Short-notice and pre-booked services.
CPV: Motor vehicles for the transport of 10 or more persons · Motor vehicles for the transport of fewer than 10 persons · Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
- Bids received
- 8 bids on the busiest of 3 lots · 6 suppliers appointed
- Framework period
- 3 yrs · up to 4 yrs from 1 Aug 2026
Published description of the framework
This is a multi-supplier framework agreement for coach and minibus services. Call-off contracts may be awarded by direct award, direct award using a desktop assessment methodology, or mini-competition, in accordance with the framework agreement terms and award procedures.
Lots and requirements (3)Procurement structure
3 lots · all with a published value · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1CoachAwardedRenewalPublished value£0
The source published no individual description for this lot.
Lot #2Small/Medium CoachAwardedRenewalPublished value£0
The source published no individual description for this lot.
Lot #3MinibusAwardedRenewalPublished value£0
The source published no individual description for this lot.
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 (2)
- Quality: 40%
- Commercial: 60%
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality
- Commercial
- Price carries 60 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 6 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
- “Coach and Minibus Framework” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract: call-offs may be direct or by further competition.
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
- Framework agreement
- Who may use the vehicle
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 25 Nov 2025, 15:48 GMT
- Last source update
- 26 Aug 2026, 16:43 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 16 Jul 2026
- Authority reference
PURCON 5069- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-040464- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e8a0Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 15 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 22 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
25 Nov 2025 → 26 Aug 2026 · 9 dates- Planning notice published325 days ago25 Nov 2025, 15:48 GMT
- Market engagement312 days ago8 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
The UEA is interested in responses from suppliers that can provide, directly or via a framework consortium, a coach and minibus service suitable for the UEA's specification of requirements.
Please complete the MS Form found here:
forms.office.com/e/MsEUaE9ewv ↗. We expect this to take around 20-30 minutes and responses will be consolidated at the end of the day, Monday 8th December.
We value your contribution to the shaping of the next iteration of the contract. Thank you!
- Tender notice published168 days ago1 May 2026, 12:35 BST
- Clarification questions by147 days ago22 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period ends123 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown15 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent100 days ago9 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
- Award decision expected by92 days ago16 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts77 days ago1 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published51 days ago26 Aug 2026, 16:43 BST
Notice history
10 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 25 Nov 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published25 Nov 2025, 15:48 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published1 May 2026, 12:35 BSTUK4
- Published value updated1 May 2026, 12:35 BST
- Status changed to active1 May 2026, 12:35 BST
- Procurement method changed1 May 2026, 12:35 BST
- Deadline published: 15 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST1 May 2026, 12:35 BST
- Contract award notice published22 Jul 2026, 16:14 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete22 Jul 2026, 16:14 BST
- Contract signature expected1 Aug 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published26 Aug 2026, 16:43 BSTUK7
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2025-11: 1 release · 25 Nov 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast£300,000 inc. VAT is the framework's published maximum, restated by the publisher on 3 award rows. It is one ceiling, not 3 separate sums, and no share per lot is published; those rows read “ceiling above”.
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · Coach1 award | |||
| AFSC LIMITEDSME, Central Connect Transport LtdSME, Freestones Coaches ltdSME, ICT Coaches LtdSME, Jubilee Coaches (Rollesby) LtdSMECoach (36+ seats)1 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2029 · up to 31 Jul 2030Extensions: A discretionary 1 year extension will be determined at the discretion of the contract authority. | ceiling above | 9 Jul 2026 | Awarded |
| Lot 2 · Small/Medium Coach1 award | |||
| AFSC LIMITEDSME, Central Connect Transport LtdSME, Freestones Coaches ltdSME, ICT Coaches LtdSME, Sanders Coaches LtdSME1 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2029 · up to 31 Jul 2030Extensions: A discretionary 1 year extension will be determined at the discretion of the contract authority. | ceiling above | 9 Jul 2026 | Awarded |
| Lot 3 · Minibus1 award | |||
| AFSC LIMITEDSME, Central Connect Transport LtdSME, Freestones Coaches ltdSME, ICT Coaches LtdSME1 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2029 · up to 31 Jul 2030Extensions: A discretionary 1 year extension will be determined at the discretion of the contract authority. | ceiling above | 9 Jul 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
All 3 of these contracts carry the same published figure, £300,000, the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each contract's own value. They are not eleven separate sums.
Coach (36+ seats) · AFSC LIMITEDSME, Central Connect Transport LtdSME, Freestones Coaches ltdSME, ICT Coaches LtdSME, Jubilee Coaches (Rollesby) LtdSME
- Signed
- 1 Aug 2026
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- 1 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2029 · up to 31 Jul 2030 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- A discretionary 1 year extension will be determined at the discretion of the contract authority.
Small/Medium Coach (17-35 seats) · AFSC LIMITEDSME, Central Connect Transport LtdSME, Freestones Coaches ltdSME, ICT Coaches LtdSME, Sanders Coaches LtdSME
- Signed
- 1 Aug 2026
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- 1 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2029 · up to 31 Jul 2030 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- A discretionary 1 year extension will be determined at the discretion of the contract authority.
Minibus (Up to 16 seats) · AFSC LIMITEDSME, Central Connect Transport LtdSME, Freestones Coaches ltdSME, ICT Coaches LtdSME
- Signed
- 1 Aug 2026
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- 1 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2029 · up to 31 Jul 2030 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- A discretionary 1 year extension will be determined at the discretion of the contract authority.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Coach | 8final-stage tenders · 9 at stage one | 8 | 0 | — |
| 2 · Small/Medium Coach | 8final-stage tenders · 9 at stage one | 8 | 0 | — |
| 3 · Minibus | 7final-stage tenders · 8 at stage one | 7 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Framework contractors & participating bidders
6 commercial parties on the notice- AFSC LIMITEDFramework contractor
- CENTRAL CONNECT TRANSPORT LIMITEDFramework contractor
- FREESTONES COACHES LIMITEDFramework contractor
- ICT COACHES LTDFramework contractor
- JUBILEE COACHES (ROLLESBY) LTDFramework contractor
- SANDERS COACHES LIMITEDFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (9)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender