Official UK procurement notice
ITT - Archaeological Services in Relation to Marine Protection 2027-2029 - UID 365
Authority: Historic England (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe UK is a signatory to the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (revised) 1992. The aim of the Convention is to protect the archaeological heritage as a source of the European collective memory and as an instrument for historical and scientific study, whether on land or underwater.
In order to meet this commitment and to provide for the conservation and enhancement of significant marine heritage assets, Historic England is seeking to procure, within a single contract, assessment functions to support marine protection and management for the two-year period April 2027 to March 2029 (inclusive).
The project will address those sites and assets most at risk through neglect, decay or other threats within UK territorial waters adjacent to England.
CPV: Archaeological services · Marine research services · Marine survey services · Research services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£312,000
- Value
- £312,000 exc. VAT · £374,400 inc. VAT
- Extensions
- 12 month optional extension
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 award criteria (2)
- Price
- Quality
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Price carries 35 of 100 points — a 10% discount moves about 3.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £299,290 (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 Historic England buys Engineering-related scientific and technical services (CPV 7135) — and who usually turns up
Historic England’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: Engineering-related scientific and technical services (CPV 7135) →
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 South West England (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in South West England.
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 18 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.
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 bid31% / 17%
2–315% / 50%
4–615% / 17%
7+38% / 17%
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 estimate39% / 29%
Within ±2%51% / 29%
Above estimate10% / 43%
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 7135Published estimate£312k
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 bid21%
2–329%
4–620%
7+30%
i
Where the winning price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
Based on 4 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A guide, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£286k–£312k
Estimate£312k
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 | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wessex ArchaeologyEarlier contract | Framework Agreement for Archaeological Services in relation to Marine Protectionnotice published Mar 2022 | — | — | 55% match |
| Maritime Archaeology LtdEarlier contract | Framework Agreement for Archaeological Services in relation to Marine Protectionnotice published Mar 2022 | — | — | 55% match |
| MSDS Marine LtdEarlier contract | Framework Agreement for Archaeological Services in relation to Marine Protectionnotice published Mar 2022 | — | — | 55% match |
| Harlow Consulting Services LimitedWorked for this buyer | Assessing the contribution of archaeology to non-heritage science and innovation [NP 335]notice published Aug 2025 | — | — | 83% match |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| £281k3 awards in 36m · last 4 months ago | 2 live · £216k 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. | at estimate n=1 | |
AtkinsRéalis UK LtdLarge | £139m103 awards in 36m · last this month | 30 live · £189m 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. | at estimate n=15 |
SYSTRA LimitedLarge | £8.9m33 awards in 36m · last this month | 9 live · £17m 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=10 |
| £124k5 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 2 live · £375k 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. | 5% below n=2 | |
| £1.3m13 awards in 36m · last 8 months ago | 1 live · £100k 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. | no comparable pairs |
Coverage and what to read with care
- Each figure explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two sides are never blended. A lot’s own market is read at its delivery region where the lot names one; where it names several, or none that can be resolved, the chart falls back to the UK-wide record for the same category and says so under the bar. An empty cell means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
- When we call out a difference. A buyer figure is only flagged against the market when the sample is large enough that the gap is unlikely to be chance; at most two callouts appear, always phrased as a comparison with both numbers and the sample size.
- Coverage (re-measured 5 Oct on the live record, 94,497 awarded procedures of the last three years). 51 % publish a bid count and 72 % a delivery region, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice names none, labelled. Of the 17,687 award-vs-estimate pairs, 34 % sit exactly on the estimate — the buyer published the award at the figure it advertised. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden, and a distribution is not drawn as percentages below ten observations.
- “Match”, text similarity, the expected-bid figure and the distribution drawn beneath it are model outputs, not published facts or win probabilities. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
57% 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.
57% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (57% title match) — the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
Framework Agreement for Archaeological Services in relation to Marine Protection — winner not published; the published contract ends 28 Feb 2025.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- 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
- 12 Oct 2026, 16:42 BST
- Last source update
- 12 Oct 2026, 16:55 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end — 14 Dec 2026
- Authority reference
PREF 00000633- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-096277- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078603Find a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via In-tend- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 13 Nov 2026, 09:30 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 6 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
5 published dates · Europe/London- Tender notice published1 day ago12 Oct 2026, 16:42 BST
- Clarification questions byin 25 days6 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 31 days13 Nov 2026, 09:30 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 63 days14 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 170 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 12 Oct 2026- Tender notice published12 Oct 2026, 16:55 BSTUK4
- Deadline moved to 13 Nov 2026, 09:30 GMT12 Oct 2026, 16:55 BST-17 days · was 30 Nov 2026, 09:30 GMT
- Tender notice published12 Oct 2026, 16:42 BSTUK4
- First tender notice published12 Oct 2026, 16:42 BST
Published amendments (1)
Tender submission deadline had the wrong date as 30/11/26 should be 13/11/26
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender