Official UK procurement notice
Gallery 33 - Principal Contractor Exhibition Fit-Out
Authority: Natural History Museum (Central government)
In September 2027, we will open a new, permanent gallery at South Kensington dedicated to building a positive connection to nature in our very youngest audiences - aged 4-7 years old - and their adults. This brand-new gallery will be a place where visitors delight in the dazzling variety of life on Earth, from the very small to the very tall, and discover that all life – including us! – share the same needs. We all need to breathe, eat, move, communicate and grow to survive and often depend on each other to do this. In order to secure a timeslot bidders must sign and return the NDA contained within the Tenderbox Document Library, and confirm attendance by 10am, Wednesday 4 November.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionIn September 2027, we will open a new, permanent gallery at South Kensington dedicated to building a positive connection to nature in our very youngest audiences - aged 4-7 years old - and their adults. This brand-new gallery will be a place where visitors delight in the dazzling variety of life on Earth, from the very small to the very tall, and discover that all life – including us! – share the same needs. We all need to breathe, eat, move, communicate and grow to survive and often depend on each other to do this. Together, we are all part of this great, big, weird and wonderful natural world. It will deliver inspiring stories that celebrate diversity and welcome in the widest possible audience of children and their adults. It will combine our world-leading collections, with hands-on and multi-sensory interactives that evoke joy, empathy and care. This project supports our Strategy and Mission to 2031 and our vision of a future where both people and the planet thrive, with a mission to create advocates for the planet. By appealing to visitors’ sense of kindness, their curiosity, and their imagination, this gallery will lay the foundations of advocacy for nature at a young age, foster a lifelong appreciation of the natural world and build a positive connection to nature in early childhood.
Gallery 33 (working title) will replace the current Creepy Crawlies gallery on the ground floor the Grade 1 listed Waterhouse East Building and refurbishing the space for the new exhibition. It will open in September 2027 as a free, permanent gallery, and is expected to welcome millions of visitors over a 25-year lifespan. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a new gallery which positions children at the heart of our Museum and inspire the next generation of children to start their lifelong journey of advocacy for the planet.
The Natural History Museum wishes to secure the services of a Principal Contractor to undertake the exhibition fit-out, including sub-contracting the services of an AV Integrator and specialist showcase manufacturer.
Mandatory site visits are being held w/c 9th November. In order to secure a timeslot bidders must sign and return the NDA contained within the Tenderbox Document Library, and confirm attendance by 10am, Wednesday 4 November.
CPV: Construction work for art and cultural buildings · Construction work for buildings relating to exhibitions · Library, archives, museums and other cultural services · Museum construction work · Museum services · Museum-exhibition services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Published value£1,500,000
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 (3)
- Quality Criteria: 60%
- Pricing Schedule: 30%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
- Quality Criteria
- Social Value
- Pricing Schedule
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £3,911,296 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Natural History Museum buys Building construction work (CPV 4521), and who usually turns up
Natural History Museum’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: Building construction work (CPV 4521) →
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 Greater London.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in 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 16 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.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
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 bid9% / 17%
2–317% / 28%
4–648% / 30%
7+26% / 26%
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 estimate54% / 32%
Within ±2%38% / 32%
Above estimate8% / 36%
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 4521Published estimate£1.5m
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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid4%
2–317%
4–643%
7+36%
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.
Based on 50 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£1.3m–£1.5m
Estimate£1.5m
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Forster Associates LtdEarlier contract | OGH Beta Principal Contractorended Aug 2026 | — | £188k | Matched as the earlier contract |
| Haworth Tompkins LtdWorked for this buyer | NHM150 Western Galleries - Base Build Lead Architectruns to Mar 2032 | — | £1.5m | Similar wording and category |
| D & B Facades UK LtdWorked for this buyer | Main Contractor - Refurbishment and Roof Upgrade Design & Worksnotice published Mar 2024 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
| Walter Lilly and Co LtdWorked for this buyer | Urban Nature Project Principal Contractnotice published Oct 2022 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
| DBR (London) LimitedWorked for this buyer | Principal Contractor - Waterhouse Building Facade Restoration Programmenotice published Dec 2023 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £3.7m6 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | None on file | 12% below n=2 | |
| £796k4 awards in 36m · last 4 months ago | None on file | 10% above n=2 | |
| £3.7m5 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | 1 live · £262k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 3% below n=5 | |
| £1.8m4 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 2 live · £1.6m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 25% below n=3 | |
| £11m3 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | None on file | 35% above n=1 |
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. Contracts Finder contracts appear on the Retender Radar, not yet in these figures.
- 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- Procedure method
- Below threshold - open competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Works
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- 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
- 11 Sept 2026, 13:30 BST
- Last source update
- 28 Oct 2026, 11:26 GMT
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-101973- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f815Find a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Delta eSourcing- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 1 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 4 Nov 2026, 10:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
Timeline
11 Sept 2026 → 25 Jan 2027 · 6 dates- Planning notice published53 days ago11 Sept 2026, 13:30 BST
- Market engagement34 days ago30 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
We will be going out to tender at the end of October and are keen to gauge interest and availability to respond to the tender and carry out the scope of works to programme.
We invite potential bidders to complete a short survey to provide some information about their experience and capacity, and to provide input into some elements of the tender requirements.
forms.cloud.microsoft/e/RgDNL4DvGQ ↗
The survey closes 5pm, Wednesday 30 September.
- Tender notice published6 days ago28 Oct 2026, 11:26 GMT
- Today4 Nov 2026
- Clarification questions byin 7h4 Nov 2026, 10:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 27 days1 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Contract startsin 81 days25 Jan 2027
Notice history
7 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 11 Sept 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published11 Sept 2026, 13:30 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published14 Sept 2026, 11:47 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published28 Oct 2026, 11:26 GMTUK4
- Published value updated to £1,500,00028 Oct 2026, 11:26 GMTwas £1,400,000
- Status changed to active28 Oct 2026, 11:26 GMT
- Procurement method changed28 Oct 2026, 11:26 GMT
- Deadline published: 1 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT28 Oct 2026, 11:26 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- 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 (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender