Official UK procurement notice
HMP Rye Hill - Planned procurement notice
Authority: Ministry of Justice (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Authority is seeking to establish a new contract for Prison Operator Services at HMP Rye Hill. The anticipated contract duration is 12 years from the operational services commencement date, with an option to extend by up to 3 years in 1-year increments, making the maximum term 15 years.
The procurement for HMP Rye Hill will be conducted under the Competitive Flexible Procedure (Light Touch Regime) under the Procurement Act 2023.
The Authority has tendered the operation of prisons to the private sector since the early 1990s and has long advocated a mixed approach to prison operation that includes public, voluntary and private sector involvement. HMP Rye Hill is a male Category C Private Finance Initiative (PFI) located in Northamptonshire, England, with a current operational maximum capacity of 1,122.
An indicative timetable for the procurement is outlined below. Please note these dates may be subject to change:
- Publication of Tender Notice and Procurement Documentation – 15/06/2026
- Deadline for Submission of PSQ and COP Responses – Midday 26/06/2026
- Authority issue PSQ and COP Notification Letters – 10/07/2026
- Bidder Engagement and Dialogue - 13/07/2026 to 31/08/2026
- Publication of ISFT Documentation – 07/09/2026
- Deadline for Submission of Tender Responses – 25/09/2026
- Contract Award – 05/04/2027
This notice is for information only and the Authority reserves the right to not proceed to tender. Additionally, the Authority reserves the right to discontinue the tender process at any stage and not to award the Contract.
The information contained in this notice, including information relating to the nature and scope of the requirements, the estimated value, the service classification of this requirement or the list of CPV codes, is only indicative of current thinking and is neither exhaustive nor binding, and the Authority reserves the right at its absolute discretion to amend it at the time of issue or any further notices or at any other time. The publication of this notice in no way obliges the Authority to commence any competitive tender process. Any contracts are subject to the relevant legal and Cabinet Office controls and policies.
CPV: Imprisonment services · Prison services · Public security, law and order services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1PlannedPublished value£400,000,000
- Condition of participationshortlisting
No
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).
- Condition of participationshortlisting
No
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Ministry of Justice buys Justice services (CPV 7523), and who usually turns up
Ministry of Justice’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Justice services (CPV 7523) →
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.
Here, local means registered in East Midlands.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in East Midlands.
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.
Half of these awards were announced within 58 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.
The market share is a minimum: 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 bid20% / 25%
2–360% / 56%
4–60% / 6%
7+20% / 13%
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 estimate56% / 17%
Within ±2%30% / 83%
Above estimate15% / 0%
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 7523Published estimate£400m
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 28 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid4%
2–364%
4–614%
7+18%
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- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 7 Jan 2026, 15:56 GMT
- Last source update
- 7 Jan 2026, 15:56 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 5 Apr 2027
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-001183- Latest notice
- Planned procurement notice (UK3)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-060141Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 29 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Submission deadline
- 29 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 23 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
7 Jan 2026 → 20 Jan 2028 · 6 dates- Planning notice published288 days ago7 Jan 2026, 15:56 GMT
- Tender notice expected129 days ago15 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Clarification questions by121 days ago23 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Submission deadline115 days ago29 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today23 Oct 2026
- Award decision expected byin 165 days5 Apr 2027, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts20 Jan 2028
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Planned procurement notice published7 Jan 2026, 15:56 GMTUK3
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
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender