Official UK procurement notice
Laboratory IT Systems · UK public procurement notice
Authority: UK Biobank Ltd (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionBy publishing this Contract Notice, UK Biobank (“UKB”) is inviting requests to participate in its procurement for the design and implementation of new laboratory IT systems (the “Systems”) to support the next phase of UKB’s laboratory operations.
UKB is a large-scale biomedical database and research resource containing genetic, lifestyle and health information from half a million UK participants.
UKB’s database, which includes blood samples, heart and brain scans and genetic data of the 500,000 volunteer participants, is globally accessible to approved researchers who are undertaking health-related research that is in the public interest.
Funding to support purchase of the Systems has been budgeted by UKRI, and announced by both UKRI, and HM Treasury.
CPV: Custom software development services · IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · Industry specific software package · Software package and information systems · Systems and technical consultancy services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1UKB (www.ukbiobank.ac.uk) is a company limited by guarantee and a registered UK…AwardedRenewalPublished value£8,000,000
UKB (www.ukbiobank.ac.uk ↗) is a company limited by guarantee and a registered UK charity established by its two founding funders: the Medical Research Council and Wellcome. It is a large-scale biomedical database and research resource containing genetic, lifestyle and health information from half a million UK Participants. UKB is globally accessible to approved researchers undertaking health-related research that is in the public interest.
UKB is responsible for the safe preservation and scientific exploitation of a collection of over 17 million samples (plasma, serum, buffy coat, extracted DNA, urine and saliva) that are accessible for approved use by academic and industry researchers. About 11 million samples are stored at -80°C across an automated storage system and other manual freezers at UKB’s headquarters in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The remaining 6 million Samples are stored in vapour phase liquid nitrogen tanks at a backup site in the South of England.
UKB is inviting requests to participate in its procurement for the design and implementation of the Systems, data migration from existing legacy systems, testing, commissioning, training, hypercare support and, if required by UKB, the provision of consultancy services in relation to the Systems on an ad hoc basis. UKB envisages that its requirements can be met and the Systems can be delivered through a combination of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software packages managed through configuration, and complemented by bespoke services. UKB requires a licence and standard support services for any COTS software. This will either be included as part of the contract with the successful tenderer or through an additional contract between UKB and the COTS vendor.
The Systems will be required to support UKB laboratory operations when they move to a new purpose-built facility in the City of Manchester in the North West of England in 2026, UKB expects to take ownership for ongoing delivery of the Systems on completion of the phased implementation and will require the Service Provider to collaborate closely with the UKB technical team to ensure a successful implementation and hand-over. The current Laboratory Information Management System data stored in the legacy systems is approximately 110GB across over 160 tables. The Systems must be capable of managing 30 million samples in the near term and have the capacity to expand to accommodate 60 million within the next 15 years.
Further detail in relation to the requirements for the Systems and support services are set out in the specification provided as part of the procurement documents. Additional information: UK Biobank intends to hold a virtual information session for shortlisted tenderers. The time and final details will be confirmed to shortlisted tenderers.
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 sub-criteria (4)
- Functional Requirements: 35%
- Non-Functional / Technical Requirements: 15%
- Implementation Services: 20%
- price: 30%
Published award criteria (4)
- Functional Requirements: 35
- Non-Functional / Technical Requirements: 15
- Implementation Services: 20
- Price: 30
- Successive reduction
- Candidates will be reduced successively across stages
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Competitive procedure with negotiation
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 31 Jan 2025, 14:26 GMT
- Last source update
- 5 Nov 2025, 10:17 GMT
- Authority reference
UKB020- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-071135- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04da9dFind a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
Publisher note: UKB reserves the right to discontinue or delay the procurement process and may decide not to award a contract as a result of this call for competition. UKB shall not be liable for any costs or expenses incurred by any organisation in considering and/or responding to the procurement process. Tenders and supporting documents must be priced in pounds sterling and all payments made under the contract(s) will be in pounds sterling, unless otherwise advised. The estimated contract value for the purchase of the Systems and the provision of services as set out in this Contract Notice and for the duration described at Section II.2.7 may be in the range of [1 - 8 million GBP]. Initial work done by UKB indicated that its requirements might potentially be delivered by a wide range of solutions with differing levels of reliance on existing COTS software packages (“Buy”) and the development of bespoke software (“Build”) which explains the very broad range in the estimated contract value. However, UKB’s expectation is that the System can be delivered through a combination of COTS software packages managed through configuration, and complemented by bespoke services (i.e. with greater emphasis on “Buy” relative to “Build”) and therefore anticipates that the estimated value will be towards the lower end of this range. The duration set out at Section II.2.7 is the estimated duration of the contract and is subject to a number of milestones being achieved. UKB will incorporate a standstill period at the point the decision in relation to the award of the contract(s) is notified to bidders. The standstill period, which will be a minimum of ten (10) calendar days, provides time for unsuccessful bidders to lodge an appeal in regards to the award decisions, before the contract(s) are entered into. NOTE: In order to request to participate in this contract opportunity, interested organisations must complete and submit a response to UKB’s selection questionnaire by the deadline stated in Section IV.2.2. UKB will then undertake a shortlisting process and shortlist successful candidates, as set out in Section II.2.9, to be invited to the tender stage of the procurement process. UKB reserves the right to invite the fourth ranked candidate through to the tender stage of the procurement if its score at the selection questionnaire stage is within 5% of the third ranked candidate. It is not envisaged that there will be any down-selection of tenderers during the tender stage of the procurement although UKB reserves the right to do so. Details of the envisaged tender stage process is set out in a draft Invitation to Negotiate provided as part of the procurement documents. To access the procurement documents, please visit the myTenders Web Site at https://www.mytenders.co.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=233323. (MT Ref:235891)
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 5 Mar 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 180 days from the deadline
Timeline
5 Mar 2025 → 5 Nov 2025 · 3 dates- Submission deadline5 Mar 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Invitations to tender expected21 Mar 2025
- Notice published350 days ago5 Nov 2025, 10:17 GMT
Notice history
1 event · 2 releases on Find a Tender- Status changed to complete5 Nov 2025, 10:17 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| IBM UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED | £5,938,026 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 071135-2025-1 · IBM UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED
- Signed
- 4 Nov 2025
- Value
- £5,938,026
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13bids · 13 electronic · 13 from abroad | 8 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- The High CourtReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- IBM UNITED KINGDOM LIMITEDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Economic and financial selection criteria
- Technical selection criteria