Official UK procurement notice
Futures Afloat · UK public procurement notice
Authority: The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond (Central government)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Corporation of Trinity House ("the Authority") has awarded two separate contracts-one contract per vessel-under its Futures Afloat programme for the design and construction of two state‑of‑the‑art, multi‑functional buoy handling vessels.
The Authority is the General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. It is responsible for the provision and maintenance of lighthouses, light vessels, marine buoyage and other aids to navigation, and is one of three General Lighthouse Authorities serving the waters around the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The Futures Afloat programme includes the replacement of Trinity House's ageing multi‑functional buoy tenders (MFTs). The awarded contracts cover the full design and build of two identical vessels, which will replace THV Patricia and THV Galatea.
Contract Duration
Scheduled Delivery of Vessel 1: 3 April 2029
Scheduled Delivery of Vessel 2: 29 October 2029
End date for warranty and defect rectification obligations Vessel 1: 3 April 2032
End date for warranty and defect rectification obligations Vessel 2: 29 October 2032
Contract Value
Vessel 1: £100,859,780
Vessel 2: £92,418,040
Total value: £193,277,820
- How the procedure runs: The Authority is committed to Transparency, Collaboration and Clarity in its conduct of this competitive flexible procedure. The procurement will comprise of a conditions of participation phase and a tender phase. Suppliers should respond to the Procurement Specific Questionnaire on AWARD to take part in the conditions of participation phase. All suppliers who successfully pass the conditions of participation will be invited to submit initial tenders (there is no maximum or minimum number of suppliers). Suppliers will then be invited to negotiate with the Authority on the basis of their initial tender submissions. After the first round of negotiations, suppliers will be invited to submit detailed tenders OR best and final offers, at the Authority’s discretion and as further detailed in the Procurement Documents. The procedure may involve additional negotiation or tender submission stages as the Authority requires. If detailed tenders are invited, the Authority may elect to shortlist suppliers after the submission of detailed tenders and prior to invitations to submit best and final offers. The Authority does not intend to make a contract award on the basis of initial tenders. The Authority may, in line with the provisions of section 24 of the Procurement Act 2023, exercise its right to refine award criteria as the procurement progresses. The Authority does not consider that the contracts could be appropriately awarded by reference to lots due to the nature and complexity of the contract requirements. The Authority has carried out preliminary market engagement in relation to this procurement.
CPV: Repair and maintenance services of ships · Ships · Ships and boats · Upgrading services of ships
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedPublished value£193,347,644
- Economic & financial standing
See procurement documents pack – includes financial capacity to perform the contract and confirmation of holding or ability to obtain prior to contract award relevant insurances at the specified levels.
- Technical & professional ability
See procurement documents pack – includes ability to demonstrate to a satisfactory standard the technical capability and experience evidenced by examples of previous relevant contracts undertaken.
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 and Price will be assessed using a weighted Value for Money index . See procurement document pack.: 18%
- Quality and Price will be assessed using a weighted Value for Money index . See procurement document pack.: 82%
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality and Price will be assessed using a weighted Value for Money index . See procurement document pack.
- Quality and Price will be assessed using a weighted Value for Money index . See procurement document pack.
- Economic & financial standing
See procurement documents pack – includes financial capacity to perform the contract and confirmation of holding or ability to obtain prior to contract award relevant insurances at the specified levels.
- Technical & professional ability
See procurement documents pack – includes ability to demonstrate to a satisfactory standard the technical capability and experience evidenced by examples of previous relevant contracts undertaken.
- Price carries 100 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 10 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
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
- Awarded
- 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, CPTPP)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 10 Jul 2025, 16:05 BST
- Last source update
- 13 Aug 2026, 11:19 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 1 Jul 2026
- Authority reference
CM2 (T0533)- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-039056- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-055d25Find a Tender
- How it runs
The Authority is committed to Transparency, Collaboration and Clarity in its conduct of this competitive flexible procedure.
The procurement will comprise of a conditions of participation phase and a tender phase. Suppliers should respond to the Procurement Specific Questionnaire on AWARD to take part in the conditions of participation phase.
All suppliers who successfully pass the conditions of participation will be invited to submit initial tenders (there is no maximum or minimum number of suppliers). Suppliers will then be invited to negotiate with the Authority on the basis of their initial tender submissions. After the first round of negotiations, suppliers will be invited to submit detailed tenders OR best and final offers, at the Authority’s discretion and as further detailed in the Procurement Documents.
The procedure may involve additional negotiation or tender submission stages as the Authority requires. If detailed tenders are invited, the Authority may elect to shortlist suppliers after the submission of detailed tenders and prior to invitations to submit best and final offers. The Authority does not intend to make a contract award on the basis of initial tenders.
The Authority may, in line with the provisions of section 24 of the Procurement Act 2023, exercise its right to refine award criteria as the procurement progresses. The Authority does not consider that the contracts could be appropriately awarded by reference to lots due to the nature and complexity of the contract requirements.
The Authority has carried out preliminary market engagement in relation to this procurement.
- Risks
Associated tender documents are found in a procurement documents pack provided on AWARD. At the date of publication of this Tender Notice, this includes a Memorandum of Information, tendering specification and requirements documents, a Procurement Specific Questionnaire, DRAFT contract, and a DRAFT Invitation to Submit Initial Tenders (ISIT). Suppliers are asked to respond to the Procurement Specific Questionnaire.
The ISIT is issued in DRAFT form for suppliers’ reference only, and is subject to amendment. Suppliers are NOT required to respond to the ISIT unless instructed to during the course of the procurement.
Further associated tender documents may be published during the course of the procurement, accessible to suppliers via AWARD.
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 22 Aug 2025, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline
- 22 Aug 2025, 17:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 22 Aug 2025, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
10 Jul 2025 → 1 Oct 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published10 Jul 2025, 16:05 BST
- Clarification questions by22 Aug 2025, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline22 Aug 2025, 17:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent155 days ago20 May 2026, 00:00 BST
- Award decision expected by112 days ago1 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Standstill ends97 days ago16 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published70 days ago13 Aug 2026, 11:19 BST
- Contract starts21 days ago1 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
7 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 10 Jul 2025- Tender notice published10 Jul 2025, 16:05 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published14 Jul 2025, 16:05 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published6 Jul 2026, 15:52 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete6 Jul 2026, 15:52 BST
- Buyer details updated6 Jul 2026, 15:52 BST
- Contract signature expected17 Jul 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published13 Aug 2026, 11:19 BSTUK7
Published amendments (1)
To update and replace the link to a new url, for an updated registration page for the programme. As per details within the notice, the new AWARD link is: https://award.commercedecisions.com/trinityhouse/web/project/a0604d44-7f76-4125-8f75-eab197aac7f5/register
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2025-07: 1 release · 10 Jul 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vard Group AS17 Jul 2026 – 29 Oct 2032 | £193,277,820 | 20 May 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 1 · Vard Group AS
- Signed
- 22 Jul 2026
- Value
- £193,277,820
- Period
- 22 Jul 2026 – 29 Oct 2032
- Status
- active
3 agreed KPIs: Skills for Growth · Sustainable Procurement Practices (ESG Assessments) · UK Content
- Skills for Growth, The Builder must achieve all Skills for Growth delivery objectives each Contract Year, including internships for UK engineering students, guest lectures at UK universities, and mentoring of Bachelor/Master students. Reporting frequency: Annually
- Sustainable Procurement Practices (ESG Assessments), The Builder must ensure that 60 suppliers not on the Makers List complete an ESG assessment by the end of Contract Year 1. Reporting frequency: Annually (measured once at end of Contract Year 1)
- UK Content, The Builder must procure at least 3% of the Contract Price from UK‑based suppliers or subcontractors. Reporting frequency: Annually (measured at end of Contract Year 3)
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- wonVard Group AS
- did not winAstilleros Gondán S.A.
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeBidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice · 1 awarded- Astilleros Gondán S.A.Bidder / tenderer
- Vard Group ASAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Signed contract Vessel 1 redacted contract
- Signed contract Vessel 2 redacted contract
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender