Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 13 Aug 2026, 14:01 BST

Official UK procurement notice

J5 Super Grid Transformer Refurbishment

Authority: UK Atomic Energy Authority (Central government)

WorksBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdSME suitable
Published estimate£2,000,000£2,400,000 inc. VAT · 1 value update
Submission deadline 5 Nov 202612:30 GMT · 16d 9h left
Clarification cut-off 5 Nov 202612:30 GMT · questions to the authority
Contract term 6 moends 31 May 2027 · starts 2 Dec 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Provision of the refurbishment of three super grid transformers on the Culham Campus, as part of an Asset Life Extension Programme to the SGTs.

CPV: Mechanical and electrical engineering services · Refurbishment work · Repair and maintenance services of transformers

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1 6 moSMEPublished value£2,000,000
Contract period: 2 Dec 2026 – 31 May 2027 (6 mo)Value: £2,000,000 exc. VAT · £2,400,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligibleTurnover guideline: ~£4,000,000/yr≈ 2× annual value

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

Lot awarding rule: As stated within the Invitation to Tender documentation

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

What this means for your bid
  • Turnover usually expected at this size: about £4,000,000 (twice the annual value).

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 UK Atomic Energy Authority buys Other building completion work (CPV 4545), and who usually turns up

UK Atomic Energy Authority’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: Other building completion work (CPV 4545) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerUK Atomic Energy Authority · division 45
The marketOther building completion work (CPV 4545) · South East England (authority’s region)
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 2 of 6 known-size awards · market: CPV 4545 · South East England (authority’s region), n=93
33%86%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
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 East England (authority’s region).

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 4 of 9 known-location awards · market: CPV 4545 · South East England (authority’s region), n=138
44%49%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside South East England.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 34 decided notices · market: CPV 4545 · South East England (authority’s region), n=20
27 days37 days

Half of these awards were announced within 27 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 9 of 12 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 4545 · South East England (authority’s region), n=136
75%16%

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer37 lots with bid counts · all categories
24% had one bid
The market26 lots with bid counts · CPV 4545 · South East England (authority’s region)
23% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid24% / 23%
Buyer: 9 of 37 lots with published bid counts. Market: 6 of 26 lots with published bid counts.
2–338% / 4%
Buyer: 14 of 37 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 26 lots with published bid counts.
4–616% / 27%
Buyer: 6 of 37 lots with published bid counts. Market: 7 of 26 lots with published bid counts.
7+22% / 46%
Buyer: 8 of 37 lots with published bid counts. Market: 12 of 26 lots with published bid counts.

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer30 lots with estimate and award · all categories
40% below estimate
The market26 lots with estimate and award · CPV 4545 · South East England (authority’s region)
31% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate40% / 31%
Buyer: 12 of 30 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 8 of 26 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%37% / 31%
Buyer: 11 of 30 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 8 of 26 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate23% / 38%
Buyer: 7 of 30 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 10 of 26 lots with an estimate and award.
2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 45456 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£2.0m
Expected competition
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.

5expected bids4% single-bid risk
forecast from 30 past contests
Forecast chances for this lot
1 bid4%
Chance this lot gets 1 bid: 4%. This is a forecast.
2–314%
Chance this lot gets 2–3: 14%. This is a forecast.
4–615%
Chance this lot gets 4–6: 15%. This is a forecast.
7+67%
Chance this lot gets 7+: 67%. This is a forecast.
Commercial price forecast
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.

Based on 17 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.

A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.

£2.0mLevel with estimate
17 comparable awards
Forecast compared with the buyer’s estimate
Middle 50%£2.0m–£2.0m
Half of likely prices fall between £1,980,198 and £2,000,000.
Estimate£2.0m
The buyer published an estimate of £2,000,000 for this lot.
A 47% chance the award lands exactly on the estimate.

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.

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.

SupplierWon in this categoryLive contractsAward vs estimate
£3.8m9 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago3 live · £1.3m
i

Public 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.

30% below n=1
£605k8 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago1 live · £45k
i

Public 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
£364k7 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago5 live · £394k
i

Public 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
£2.0m2 awards in 36m · last 1 months agoNone on file50% below n=1
2 panel places
£15m3 awards in 36m · last 13 months agoNone on file37% above n=1
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 match score 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
Below threshold - open competition
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Works
Notice status
Open for tender
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
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
13 Aug 2026, 14:01 BST
Last source update
7 Oct 2026, 17:07 BST
Authority reference
T/071CY/26
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-094949
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Mechanical and electrical engineering servicesRefurbishment workRepair and maintenance services of transformers
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e3ab Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Submit via EU-Supply (CTM)
Submission portal named on this notice: EU-Supply (CTM) · Who buys & how to bid on EU-Supply
Public notice page · account needed to bidElectronic submission allowed
Access & registration note: Free · 5–10 minutes
Requests to participate (first stage)
—
Tender submission deadline
5 Nov 2026, 12:30 GMT
Clarification deadline
5 Nov 2026, 12:30 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Published estimate £2,000,000 excludes VAT (£2,400,000 including VAT).

Timeline

13 Aug 2026 → 2 Dec 2026 · 7 dates
  1. Planning notice published68 days ago
    13 Aug 2026, 14:01 BST
  2. Market engagement53 days ago
    27 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
  3. Next notice expected45 days ago
    4 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
  4. Tender notice published12 days ago
    7 Oct 2026, 17:07 BST
  5. Today
    20 Oct 2026
  6. Clarification questions byin 16 days
    5 Nov 2026, 12:30 GMT
  7. Submission deadlinein 16 days
    5 Nov 2026, 12:30 GMT
  8. Contract startsin 43 days
    2 Dec 2026

Notice history

6 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 13 Aug 2026
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    13 Aug 2026, 14:01 BST
    UK2
  2. Tender notice published
    7 Oct 2026, 17:07 BST
    UK4
  3. Published value updated to £2,000,000
    7 Oct 2026, 17:07 BST
    was £700,000
  4. Status changed to active
    7 Oct 2026, 17:07 BST
  5. Procurement method changed
    7 Oct 2026, 17:07 BST
  6. Deadline published: 5 Nov 2026, 12:30 GMT
    7 Oct 2026, 17:07 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

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

UK Atomic Energy Authority

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PLJV-1169-JTDD Culham Science Centre, Oxfordshire, South East, OX14 3DBContact name, email, phone

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure