Find a TenderOpen admission Tender notice
Published 5 Oct 2026, 16:45 BST

Official UK procurement notice

ITT - Storage Design and Environmental Requirements Framework for Archaeological Archives in England - UID 369

Authority: Historic England (Central government)

Framework agreementServicesBelow threshold - open competitionBelow threshold
Framework ceiling (notional)£24,000framework ceiling, not attributable revenue
Admission open until 2 Nov 202609:30 GMT · period end, not a bid countdown
Clarification cut-off 23 Oct 202617:00 BST · questions to the authority
Framework period 4 moup to 7 mo with extensions · starts 30 Nov 2026
Bids per lot · this authority 24all categories · n=5 · competition analysis ↓

What is being bought

Published requirement description

This a visionary project to define the ideal physical infrastructure for a National Collection of Archaeological Archives (NCAA) in England. It addresses the growing crisis in archaeological archive storage due to museum capacity limits and aims to establish a state-of-the-art national store that ensures preservation, accessibility, and sustainability for whole archaeological archives of England where regional deposition is not possible.

The aim of this project is to define a best evidence-based storage system for a national store of archaeological archives. The baseline model for such a store has already been outlined in the Options for Sustainable Archaeological Archives Report and is described below. The Operating Model has also been explored.

In addition to establishing a vision for a national archaeological archive repository, this project will provide an evidence base for future infrastructure planning, including storage environments, spatial organisation, sustainability, and repository design requirements. The findings will support complementary work on business case development, cost modelling, building design, and site selection.

CPV: Preservation services of historical buildings · Research and development consultancy services · Research consultancy services · Research services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Lot 1Renewal 4 moPublished valueAED 24,000
Contract period: 30 Nov 2026 — 19 Mar 2027 (4 mo) · up to 7 mo with extensions
Value
AED 24,000 exc. VAT · AED 28,000 inc. VAT
Extensions
3 months
73110000 Research services73200000 Research and development consultancy services73210000 Research consultancy services92522200 Preservation services of historical buildings

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

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 more
How bids are scored

Price Weighting 35% Quality Weighting 65%

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

How Historic England buys Museum services and preservation services of historical sites and buildings (CPV 9252) — and who usually turns up

Historic England’s own published record, next to the South West England market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Museum services and preservation services of historical sites and buildings (CPV 9252) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested frameworks and DPS only — direct awards (including PA 2023 transparency notices) report one bid by definition and are left out. On Procurement Act 2023 notices the count is the tenders assessed at the final stage, not every submission received; pairs compare like with like (VAT-exclusive, or VAT-inclusive on both sides). Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.

This authority

Historic England

framework/DPS notices in 36 months: 4 in division 92 (1 route not published) · 19 in all categories (8 without competition · 1 route not published)

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 5 lots. 4 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 22.5) and 1 from older notices (bids received, middle 24).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

24all categories · 36m · n=5 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 5 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

0%all categories · 36m · n=5 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 24 months: 39 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

at estimateall categories · 24m · n=39 pairs
Deadline → award date
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.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 3 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

96dall categories · 36m · n=3 notices
Notice updates
i

How often this buyer changes a notice after publishing it.

Middle number of amendments per notice. Deadline extensions and corrections both count.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 24 months: 165 notices.

Last 24 months.

0all categories · 24m · n=165 notices
Awarded without competition
i

How often this buyer awards without a competition.

Direct or limited awards as a share of its notices that say which procedure was used. These routes are legal in defined cases. This is just the record.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 92), last 36 months: 3 notices.

Last 36 months.

0%division 92 · 36m · n=3 notices
Bids per lot robust · n=5
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 5 lots on 4 contested notices · all categories, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 0%
  • 2–3 20%
  • 4–6 0%
  • 7+ 80%

Middle value 24 · 5 lots on 4 contested notices · all categories.

How procedures are run moderate · n=3
i

Which procedures buyers here use.

Notices by the procedure they declare: open, selective, limited or direct. Open and selective are competitions; limited and direct are not.

Based on 4 notices · division 92, last 36 months.

  • Open 67%
  • Selective 33%
  • Limited 0%
  • Direct 0%

4 notices · division 92. Open and selective are competed (they feed the bid and price figures above); limited and direct are not; notices publishing no route are outside all four.

The market · authority’s region

South West England · Museum services and preservation services of historical sites and buildings (CPV 9252)

framework/DPS notices delivered in South West England in 36 months: 1 in CPV 9252 (1 competed) · 11 in division 92 (10 competed, 1 route not published) · the notice publishes no delivery location, so the authority’s registered region is used

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 92), last 36 months: 8 lots. 3 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 3) and 5 from older notices (bids received, middle 25).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

22division 92 · 36m · n=8 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 92), last 36 months: 8 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

0%division 92 · 36m · n=8 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Nothing published for this region in this sector: not measured on frameworks — a panel award is a ceiling, not a price.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

—not measured on frameworks — a panel award is a ceiling, not a price
Deadline → award date
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.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 92), last 36 months: 3 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

96ddivision 92 · 36m · n=3 notices
SME bidders
i

How much of this market goes to small and medium firms.

SME bidders where buyers published the split, otherwise SME winners.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 92), last 36 months: 4 lots.

Last 36 months.

88%division 92 · 36m · n=4 lots
Winners based in the region
i

How much work like this goes to companies based in the delivery region.

Awards in this category delivered here where the winner’s registered address is in the region.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 92), last 36 months: 19 awards.

Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.

Last 36 months.

100%division 92 · 36m · n=19 awards
Bids per lot robust · n=8
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 8 lots on 5 contested notices · division 92, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 0%
  • 2–3 25%
  • 4–6 0%
  • 7+ 75%

Middle value 22 · 8 lots on 5 contested notices · division 92.

How procedures are run robust · n=10
i

Which procedures buyers here use.

Notices by the procedure they declare: open, selective, limited or direct. Open and selective are competitions; limited and direct are not.

Based on 11 notices · division 92, last 36 months.

  • Open 50%
  • Selective 50%
  • Limited 0%
  • Direct 0%

11 notices · division 92. Open and selective are competed (they feed the bid and price figures above); limited and direct are not; notices publishing no route are outside all four.

robust · n=39
i

Where this tender’s estimate would land if the usual pattern repeats.

We apply the buyer’s usual movement between estimate and award (or the region’s) to the estimate on this notice.

Based on this buyer’s own usual movement over 39 lots (all categories), applied to the £24,000 estimate on this notice.

A benchmark, not a price to bid.

The middle award in Historic England (all categories, n=39 pairs) lands at estimate: on this notice’s £24,000 that is about £23,904. Context for a bid, not a recommended price.
Coverage and what to read with care
  • Each tile 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 columns are never blended and nothing is filled from a UK-wide figure; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
  • Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). About 30 % of award-vs-estimate pairs are exact matches — the buyer published the award at the estimate. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden.
  • “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Below threshold - open competition
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Open admission
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Framework agreement
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
5 Oct 2026, 16:45 BST
Last source update
5 Oct 2026, 16:45 BST
Authority reference
PREF 00000624
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Preservation services of historical buildingsResearch and development consultancy servicesResearch consultancy servicesResearch services
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07811f Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Apply via In-tend
Submission portal named on this notice: In-tend · Who buys & how to bid on In-tend
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowed
Access & registration note: Free · one account per buying organisation's portal · reCAPTCHA on signup
Expression of interest (EOI)
—
Appointment period ends
2 Nov 2026, 09:30 GMT
Clarification deadline
23 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Tender notice publishedearlier today
    5 Oct 2026, 16:45 BST
  2. Clarification questions byin 18 days
    23 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
  3. Admission / appointment period endsin 28 days · period end, not a bid countdown
    2 Nov 2026, 09:30 GMT
  4. Contract startsin 55 days
    30 Nov 2026, 00:00 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

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    5 Oct 2026, 16:45 BSTUK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Historic England

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PXLY-5862-RMML The Engine House, Swindon, South West, SN22EH [email protected]

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender