Official UK procurement notice
I4C Innovation and Cleantech Centre, Ballymena
Authority: Mid and east Antrim Borough Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement description- Preliminary Market Engagement
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council intends to undertake Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) in advance of a proposed procurement exercise for the construction of the i4C Innovation & Cleantech Centre in Ballymena.
The purpose of this Preliminary Market Engagement is to engage with suitably experienced contractors and the wider construction market to assist the Council in developing and refining its procurement strategy and approach prior to commencement of the formal procurement process.
The Council wishes to understand current market capability, capacity and appetite for a project of this nature and to obtain market feedback on matters which may influence the final procurement and delivery strategy.
- Project Description
The proposed i4C Innovation & Cleantech Centre will provide a purpose-designed innovation and cleantech facility in Ballymena, supporting businesses operating within the clean technology, innovation and advanced manufacturing sectors.
The proposed development is anticipated to comprise office, collaboration and innovation spaces together with light industrial/workshop accommodation, ancillary facilities and associated external works, access, parking, landscaping, utilities and infrastructure.
The current estimated construction contract value is approximately £20 million, inclusive of allowances for construction and design risk and anticipated construction and tender inflation. This figure is indicative only and remains subject to ongoing design development, cost planning and confirmation of the proposed procurement scope.
The inclusion of loose furniture within the construction contract remains under consideration and will be confirmed as the procurement strategy is developed.
The project is currently progressing through design development and statutory approval stages. The
The project is currently progressing through design development and statutory approval stages. The final scope and procurement documentation remain subject to development and approval.
Through this Preliminary Market Engagement exercise, the Council is seeking feedback from the construction market in relation to matters including, but not necessarily limited to:
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current contractor interest and appetite for the project;
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market capacity and anticipated competition;
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proposed procurement and contracting approach;
•
appropriate tendering and construction programme durations;
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buildability and potential construction sequencing considerations;
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key project and delivery risks;
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current supply-chain constraints and lead-in periods;
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inflation and other relevant market conditions;
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opportunities for early contractor or supply-chain input;
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sustainability and environmental requirements, including the proposed BREEAM objectives;
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social value and opportunities for local supply-chain and SME participation;
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information that tenderers would require to appropriately understand, price and manage the project risks; and
any other matters which respondents consider could improve the deliverability, value for money or procurement of the project.
The Council may use information obtained through this exercise to inform the procurement strategy, tender documentation, programme, risk allocation and other aspects of the proposed procurement
Interested contractors are invited to participate in the Preliminary Market Engagement exercise.
Participants will be asked to provide feedback through Appendix A – Preliminary Market Engagement Questionnaire.
The relevant Preliminary Market Engagement information and questionnaire will be made available through e-sourcingni.ukp.app.jaggaer.com ↗.
Interested contractors are invited to review the information provided and submit their completed responses through the portal no later than:
•
Monday 16th November 2026 at 5pm
Indicative Procurement Programme
The following dates are indicative only and may be subject to change:
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Preliminary Market Engagement Notice published: Tuesday 20th October 2026
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Deadline for PME responses: Monday 16th November 2026
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Formal procurement process anticipated to commence (PSQ): January 2027
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Invitation to Tender (ITT) anticipated: June 2027
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Contract award anticipated: December 2027
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Contract commencement anticipated: February 2028
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Construction commencement anticipated: May 2028
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Contract completion anticipated: December 2029
CPV: Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services · Construction work
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Mid and east Antrim Borough Council buys Construction work (CPV 45), and who usually turns up
Mid and east Antrim Borough Council’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: Construction work (CPV 45) →
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.
No small-firm winners recorded among this authority’s published awards in this sample.
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 Northern Ireland.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in Northern Ireland.
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 38 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 bid58% / 15%
2–30% / 22%
4–633% / 25%
7+8% / 39%
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 estimate50% / 36%
Within ±2%17% / 19%
Above estimate33% / 46%
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 #1Published estimate£20m
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 161 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid15%
2–322%
4–625%
7+39%
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
- Works
- 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
- 20 Oct 2026, 14:47 BST
- Last source update
- 20 Oct 2026, 14:47 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-099074- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078c00Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
20 Oct 2026 → 1 Feb 2028 · 4 dates- Planning notice published1 day ago20 Oct 2026, 14:47 BST
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 27 days16 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
4.Participation
Interested contractors are invited to participate in the Preliminary Market Engagement exercise.
Participants will be asked to provide feedback through Appendix A – Preliminary Market Engagement Questionnaire.
The relevant Preliminary Market Engagement information and questionnaire will be made available through e-sourcingni.ukp.app.jaggaer.com ↗.
Responses should be submitted no later than:
•Monday 16th November 2026 at 5pm
The Council may, where considered beneficial, invite respondents to participate in follow-up discussions or engagement meetings.
- Tender notice expectedin 91 days19 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts1 Feb 2028
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published20 Oct 2026, 14:47 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