Official UK procurement notice
Food Supply Contract (The Hive)
Authority: Guildford Borough Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Hive is seeking to appoint a suitably qualified and experienced supplier to provide a comprehensive food supply service. The provider will support a range of community-based services, including meal provision, food pantries, and community fridge initiatives.
CPV: Food, beverages, tobacco and related products
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Guildford Borough Council buys Food, drink, tobacco (CPV 15), and who usually turns up
Guildford Borough Council’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Food, drink, tobacco (CPV 15) →
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.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in South East England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 81 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 bid13% / 33%
2–325% / 33%
4–613% / 14%
7+50% / 19%
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 estimate14%
Within ±2%64%
Above estimate21%
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 15Published estimate£700k
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 15. The comparison uses that group.
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 21 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid33%
2–333%
4–614%
7+19%
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
- Goods
- 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
- 10 Jun 2026, 16:06 BST
- Last source update
- 10 Jun 2026, 16:06 BST
- Authority reference
CRPN-00526- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-054882- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06b22cFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
10 Jun 2026 → 1 Oct 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published136 days ago10 Jun 2026, 16:06 BST
- Market engagement120 days ago26 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
The Council is inviting interested organisations to express their interest in the proposed contract opportunity by email to the address provided within this notice.
This Expression of Interest exercise is being undertaken to assist the Council in understanding the level of market interest, supplier capacity and the overall size and capability of the market. The information gathered will help inform the Council's procurement strategy and determine the most appropriate route to market for the future procurement process.
The Council Authority requests that interested suppliers submit responses to the questions outlined below:
- Scope and Delivery Model
Please confirm whether your organisation has the capacity and capability to deliver a comprehensive food supply service covering ambient, chilled/fresh, and frozen products under a single contract arrangement.
If this is not feasible, please outline your recommended delivery model, including any alternative lotting or contractual structures you believe would better support effective service delivery and market participation.
- Service Model and Risk Assessment
Drawing on your experience of delivering similar contracts, please identify any elements of the proposed service model, delivery requirements, or contract scope that may present challenges, risks, or barriers to participation. Where possible, please suggest mitigations or alternative approaches the Authority may wish to consider.
- Commercial Attractiveness and Market Appetite
Please outline what contract size, delivery profile, and service requirements would represent an attractive opportunity for your organisation. In addition, please identify the key commercial, operational, or contractual factors that would influence your decision to participate in a future procurement exercise of this nature.
- Tender notice expected110 days ago6 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts24 days ago1 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published10 Jun 2026, 16:06 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