Find a TenderClosedTender notice
Published 2 Sept 2026, 15:24 BST

Official UK procurement notice

EHC 0726 Provision of annual family pantomime

Official notice

Authority: East Hertfordshire District Council (Local council)

ServicesCompetitive flexible procedureAbove threshold
Published estimate£1,000,000≈ £293k / year · £1,200,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 2 Oct 2026
Contract term 3 yrs 5 moends 31 Mar 2030 · up to 31 Mar 2032 with extensions · starts 15 Nov 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

BEAM is a flagship venue and multi-faceted Arts & Culture destination in the centre of Hertford, which opened in August 2024. BEAM sits on the site of the former Hertford Theatre and is the result of a significant investment by the council. BEAM has a range of facilities including a 550-seat Theatre, a flexible Studio space, with seating for 140+, three dedicated cinema screens, a dance studio and community space, as well as hospitality spaces. The Pantomime is a major commercial driver for BEAM and will deliver significant revenue back to the venue.

The Council is seeking an experienced Pantomime Production Company to produce and deliver an annual high-quality family pantomime at BEAM for the next three years (2026-2028), with an option to extend for a further two years (2029-2030).

Objectives:

  • High Quality: The quality of the pantomime is critical to BEAMs ongoing success and the appointed Pantomime provider will need to deliver a captivating and magical Pantomime that appeals to all ages and has high-quality at its core.
  • Attract a broad audience demographic: BEAM is ideally located to be able to reach an extremely broad range of audiences. It’s therefore important that the Pantomime present an attractive offer to all potential customers. School visits will also be important to the success of Pantomime at BEAM.
  • Revenue Growth: Pantomime is a critical commercial driver for BEAM, so it is expected that revenue growth will be built into all Pantomime planning.
  • Community Outreach: Pantomime provides an excellent opportunity for local talent- especially young people- to get involved in the magic of Pantomime.
  • Brand Awareness: As a new venue, building brand recognition is highly important to us and Pantomime provides an excellent opportunity to grow Brand Awareness on a regional level, as well as the national level through the potential of award nominations.

East Hertfordshire District Council reserves the right to cancel the procurement and not to proceed with the long term contracts at any stage of the procurement process. East Hertfordshire District Council also reserves the right not to award a contract.

Neither East Hertfordshire District Council nor any person on whose behalf of whom this procurement is undertaken is to be liable for any costs incurred by those expressing an interest or tendering for these contracts.

The Council reserves the right to carry out additional financial checks on all companies tendering for this Contract at any time during the procurement process, to ensure that they continue to meet the Council`s requirements and remain financially viable to perform the Contract.

To access this procurement opportunity please visit in-tendhost.co.uk/supplyhertfordshire/… ↗ and follow the on-screen guidance. Any clarifications regarding this opportunity must be raised through the Correspondence area in the eTendering system.

If you are experiencing problems with the eTendering system, In-Tend offer a help section which includes a dedicated UK Support Desk which can be contacted via email: [email protected] or telephone +441144070065 for any website /technical questions, Monday to Friday 8:30 - 17:30.

The Council undertakes to hold confidential any information provided in the proposal submitted, subject to the Council`s obligations under the law, including the Freedom of Information Act 2000. If the potential supplier considers that any of the information submitted in the proposal should not be disclosed because of its commercial sensitivity or for reasons of confidentiality, then this should be stated with the reason for considering it sensitive. The Council will then endeavour to consult with the potential supplier about such commercially sensitive or confidential information when considering any request received under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 before replying to such a request, but the decision of the Council in deciding whether an exemption applies is final.

Please note the deadline for return and allow sufficient time to make your return as late returns will not be permitted.

Conditions of participation: There is a minimum turnover threshold of £1m pa, and previous experience of delivering a similar contract.

previous notice regarding PPME www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/045773-2025 ↗

  • How the procedure runs: The Council will shortlist the highest three scoring bidders against the award criteria stated in the Invitation to Tender document (Price/ Quality/ Social Value). At this stage any bidders outside of the top three will be deemed unsuccessful and their bids not taken forward. In the event that a tie break is required at this stage then the Tenderer that scored the highest weighted score for the Quality element of their ITT submission will be taken forward. The top three scoring bidders will be invited to a negotiation phase. Bidders will be asked to deliver a presentation to the evaluation panel going into more detail on the Quality and Social Value element outlined in the ITT above. Revised and final scoring will then take place on the Quality and Social Value criteria.

CPV: Artistic services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Renewal 3 yrs 5 moPublished value£1,000,000
Contract period: 15 Nov 2026 – 31 Mar 2030 (3 yrs 5 mo) · up to 31 Mar 2032 with extensionsValue: £1,000,000 exc. VAT · £1,200,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: East of England
Extensions: At the councils discretion option to extend by two years

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 were scored
Quality: 55%Price: 35%Social value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
  • Price
  • Quality
  • social value
What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 35 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Competitive flexible procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Closed
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
Unspecified in notice
First published
2 Sept 2026, 15:24 BST
Last source update
2 Sept 2026, 15:24 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 1 Nov 2026
Authority reference
EHC425/1323/2026
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-083140
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Artistic services
Delivery area
East of England (UKH23)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f08a Find a Tender
How it runs

The Council will shortlist the highest three scoring bidders against the award criteria stated in the Invitation to Tender document (Price/ Quality/ Social Value). At this stage any bidders outside of the top three will be deemed unsuccessful and their bids not taken forward. In the event that a tie break is required at this stage then the Tenderer that scored the highest weighted score for the Quality element of their ITT submission will be taken forward.

The top three scoring bidders will be invited to a negotiation phase. Bidders will be asked to deliver a presentation to the evaluation panel going into more detail on the Quality and Social Value element outlined in the ITT above. Revised and final scoring will then take place on the Quality and Social Value criteria.

Review and risk notes
Risks

In February 2025 the UK Government formally invited Hertfordshire County Council and the various district and borough Councils of Hertfordshire to develop proposals for local government reorganisation in Hertfordshire which is likely to result in the current two-tier system of local government being reorganised into a single tier of local government with four unitary councils for the whole of the Hertfordshire area. If implemented, local government reorganisation is currently expected to take effect in April 2028 and, on that date, the existing two-tier councils will be dissolved and replaced by one or more new unitary authorities. Existing contracts held by Hertfordshire County Council and the district and borough Councils of Hertfordshire are expected to transfer to their successor authorities on vesting day in accordance with the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and the Local Government (Structural Changes) (Transfer of Functions, Property, Rights and Liabilities) Regulations 2008. These reforms will be subject to a decision of the Secretary of State and could be subject to change at any time.

As these reforms may occur during the term of this contract and result in changes to the form, structure, size and shape of local government in Hertfordshire, they are a known risk to the Council within the meaning of paragraph 6, Schedule 8 of the Procurement Act 2023 (Act) in that the reforms could jeopardise the satisfactory performance of the contract but because the nature and extent of the reforms are presently unknown, it is not possible to address the risks in the contract. If these risks materialise, the contract may need to be modified under paragraph 5 of Schedule 8 of the Act. Such modification could include, but not be limited to, the need to replace the contracting authority with a successor public authority and/or vary the structure, scope, nature and/or geographical location/boundary within which the contract is delivered.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: In-tend · Who buys & how to bid on In-tend
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · one account per buying organisation's portal · reCAPTCHA on signup
Submission deadline
2 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

2 Sept 2026 → 15 Nov 2026 · 4 dates
  1. Tender notice published53 days ago
    2 Sept 2026, 15:24 BST
  2. Submission deadline24 days ago
    2 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
  3. Today
    26 Oct 2026
  4. Award decision expected byin 7 days
    1 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
  5. Contract startsin 20 days
    15 Nov 2026

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    2 Sept 2026, 15:24 BST
    UK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

East Hertfordshire District Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PLXX-7954-VCLM Wallfields, Pegs Lane, HERTFORD, East of England, SG13 8EQContact email

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender