Official UK procurement notice
International Specialist Courier for APHA (2026)
Authority: ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY (Defra Network eTendering Portal)·On behalf of: DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionAnimal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is seeking early expressions of interest and pre-market engagement from suppliers for the transportation of Category B (UN3373) samples internationally by a Courier Specialist.
CPV: Air transport services · Courier services · Mail delivery services · Multi-modal courier services · Non-scheduled airmail transport services · Parcel delivery services · Parcel transport services · Post and courier services · Postal services · Postal services related to parcels · Scheduled airmail transport services · Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY (Defra Network eTendering Portal) buys Courier services (CPV 6412), and who usually turns up
ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY (Defra Network eTendering Portal)’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: Courier services (CPV 6412) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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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.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address in the region where that award was delivered.
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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 54 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?
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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 bid44% / 23%
2–344% / 55%
4–611% / 14%
7+0% / 9%
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 estimate21%
Within ±2%68%
Above estimate11%
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 6412Estimate not published
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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 22 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid23%
2–355%
4–614%
7+9%
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTS ENTERPRISES T/A WORLDNET SHIPPINGEarlier contract | APHA Courier International Specialistnotice published Jul 2024 | — | £160k | Matched as the earlier contract |
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.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
81% title match.
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.
81% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (81% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
APHA Courier International Specialist — held by GTS ENTERPRISES T/A WORLDNET SHIPPING; no contract end date published.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- 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
- 15 May 2026, 12:18 BST
- Last source update
- 15 May 2026, 12:18 BST
- Authority reference
P-39754- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-044867- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0699e6Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
15 May 2026 → 1 Oct 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published162 days ago15 May 2026, 12:18 BST
- Market engagement147 days ago29 May 2026, 23:59 BST
Defra Group Commercial, on behalf of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), intends to publish a tender opportunity for the provision of an International Specialist Courier service.
The successful supplier(s) will be required to collect and deliver Category B (UN3373) consignments within the UK and internationally, including to and from Northern Ireland, Europe, Non-EU countries, and worldwide destinations.
Given the specialist nature of these consignments, suppliers must hold the appropriate licenses for transporting biological substances under chilled conditions using dry ice. In addition, suppliers will be required to provide import services and manage complex customs clearance process.
If your organisation is interested in this forthcoming opportunity, please register your interest by emailing [email protected].
In your response, kindly confirm the following:
- Whether your organisation would be interested in the opportunity.
- Your standard rates and an explanation to your approach to pricing for sending consignments to and from Northern Ireland, Europe, Non-EU countries, and Rest of the World.
We would appreciate receiving all responses by 12pm on 29th May 2026.
Thank you for your time and interest. We look forward to hearing from you.
- Tender notice expected116 days ago29 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts23 days ago1 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published15 May 2026, 12:18 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
2 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRSProcuring entityConducting the procurement process.
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