Find a TenderPlanned procurementPipeline notice
Published 3 Feb 2026, 12:47 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Fabrication and Machining Framework

Authority: NATIONAL NUCLEAR LABORATORY LIMITED

Framework agreementWorksOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Planned pipeline value£12,000,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 30 Apr 2026from the planned procurement notice
Framework period 3 yrsends 20 Aug 2029 · up to 20 Aug 2034 with extensions · starts 21 Aug 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory is seeking to establish a Fabrication and Machining framework, structured as a multi-lot arrangement to support both nuclear and non-nuclear requirements.

CPV: Fabrication work · Metalworking

How this framework works

From the published notice
Framework period
3 yrs · up to 8 yrs from 21 Aug 2026

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 3 yrsSME
Contract period: 21 Aug 2026 – 20 Aug 2029 (3 yrs) · up to 20 Aug 2034 with extensions
Extensions: Extension options published

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
What this means for your bid
  • “Fabrication and Machining Framework” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How NATIONAL NUCLEAR LABORATORY LIMITED buys Construction works for plants, mining and manufacturing and for buildings relating to the oil and gas industry (CPV 4525), and who usually turns up

NATIONAL NUCLEAR LABORATORY LIMITED’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Construction works for plants, mining and manufacturing and for buildings relating to the oil and gas industry (CPV 4525) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 1 of 2 known-size awards · market: no supplier sizes published
1 of 2—

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

How often local firms win similar work.

Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 5 of 5 known-location awards · market: no winner locations published
100%—

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in the delivery region.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 3 decided notices · market: no decision dates published
41 days—

Half of these awards were announced within 41 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: exactly 2 of 4 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: no bid counts or routes published
2 of 4—

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer13 lots with bid counts · all categories
8% had one bid
The marketNo bid counts published
Buyer · select a colour for counts
1 bid8%
Buyer: 1 of 13 lots with published bid counts.
2–38%
Buyer: 1 of 13 lots with published bid counts.
4–68%
Buyer: 1 of 13 lots with published bid counts.
7+77%
Buyer: 10 of 13 lots with published bid counts.

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.

On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.

2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 452536 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£12m
Expected competition
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 16 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet0% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 16 similar lots
1 bid0%
0 of 16 similar past lots received 1 bid (0%).
2–325%
4 of 16 similar past lots received 2–3 (25%).
4–675%
12 of 16 similar past lots received 4–6 (75%).
7+0%
0 of 16 similar past lots received 7+ (0%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 5 bids.
Commercial price forecast
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.

—Priced at call-off
On a framework or DPS the price is agreed on each call-off, so there is no award price to forecast here: the published figure is a ceiling.

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.

SupplierThis buyer’s earlier contractLotAward valueWhy listed
Graham Engineering LimitedEarlier contractFabrication and Machining Frameworknotice published Aug 2024Nuclear Rig Fabrication Machining—Matched as the earlier contract
NT Precision Limited C/O Saint and Co.Earlier contractFabrication and Machining Frameworknotice published Aug 2024Nuclear Rig Fabrication Machining—Matched as the earlier contract
Bendall's Engineering LimitedEarlier contractFabrication and Machining Frameworknotice published Aug 2024Nuclear Infrastructure Fabrication Machining—Matched as the earlier contract
Penny Engineering LimitedEarlier contractFabrication and Machining Frameworknotice published Aug 2024Non-Nuclear Rig Fabrication Machining—Matched as the earlier contract
Oldham Engineering LimitedEarlier contractFabrication and Machining Frameworknotice published Aug 2024Nuclear Infrastructure Fabrication Machining—Matched as the earlier contract

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.

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.

What this replaces
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

100% title match.

A past supplier may not bid again.

The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (100% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid

Fabrication and Machining Framework — held by Penny Engineering Limited and NT Precision Limited C/O Saint and Co. (+1 more); no contract end date published.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Works
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Framework agreement
Who may use this agreement
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
3 Feb 2026, 12:47 GMT
Last source update
5 Feb 2026, 09:15 GMT
Authority reference
NNLC703F
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-010256
Latest notice
Pipeline notice (UK1)
Classification (CPV)
Fabrication workMetalworking
Delivery area
UKNorth East (UKC)North West (UKD)Yorkshire & Humber (UKE)East Midlands (UKF)West Midlands (UKG)East of England (UKH)London (UKI)
+2 moreSouth East (UKJ)South West (UKK)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-061550 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Appointment period ends
—

Timeline

3 Feb 2026 → 21 Aug 2026 · 4 dates
  1. Planning notice published261 days ago
    3 Feb 2026, 12:47 GMT
  2. Latest notice published259 days ago
    5 Feb 2026, 09:15 GMT
  3. Tender notice expected175 days ago
    30 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
  4. Contract starts63 days ago
    21 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST

Notice history

2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 3 Feb 2026
  1. Pipeline notice published
    3 Feb 2026, 12:47 GMT
    UK1
  2. Pipeline notice published
    5 Feb 2026, 09:15 GMT
    UK1
Published amendments (1)

Contract location updated to United Kingdom.

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

UNITED KINGDOM NATIONAL NUCLEAR LABORATORY LIMITED

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-COH: 03857752 · GB-PPON: PVXT-8784-YGNV Chadwick House Warrington Road, Warrington, North West, WA3 6AEContact email

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Pipeline notice planningPipeline noticeUK1Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
  • Pipeline notice planningPipeline noticeUK1Pipeline notice on Find a Tender