Official UK procurement notice
Leisure Centre Management Contract
Authority: Bolton Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Authority looked to procure a service to provide the leisure provision across Bolton utilising the Procurement Act 2023 Competitive Flexible Procedure.
This was a multi stage process including dialogue and best and final offers. The option to bid with an agency model was permitted which is reflected in the change of proposed value.
- How the procedure runs: Stage 1 - Invitation to Tender Stage 2 - Clarification Process - where necessary Stage 3 - Invitation to participate in dialogue and/or negotiate - where necessary. Stage 4 - Best and Final Offer Stage - where necessary. Stage 5 - Award
CPV: Recreational, cultural and sporting services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£60,000,000
- Economic & financial standing
As detailed in the Procurement Specific Questionnaire
- Technical & professional ability
As detailed in the Procurement Specific Questionnaire
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 (3)
- Quality: 40%
- Cost: 40%
- Social Value: 20%
Published award criteria (3)
- Quality
- Cost
- Social Value
- Economic & financial standing
As detailed in the Procurement Specific Questionnaire
- Technical & professional ability
As detailed in the Procurement Specific Questionnaire
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 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- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- 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
- 30 May 2025, 12:01 BST
- Last source update
- 2 Dec 2025, 14:37 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 8 Dec 2025
- Authority reference
TC098- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-031303- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-052994Find a Tender
- How it runs
Stage 1 - Invitation to Tender
Stage 2 - Clarification Process - where necessary
Stage 3 - Invitation to participate in dialogue and/or negotiate - where necessary.
Stage 4 - Best and Final Offer Stage - where necessary.
Stage 5 - Award
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 22 Aug 2025, 16:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 15 Aug 2025, 16:00 BST
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
30 May 2025 → 1 Apr 2026 · 10 dates- Planning notice published30 May 2025, 12:01 BST
- Next notice expected6 Jun 2025, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published10 Jun 2025, 15:16 BST
- Clarification questions by15 Aug 2025, 16:00 BST
- Submission deadline22 Aug 2025, 16:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent329 days ago2 Dec 2025
- Latest notice published329 days ago2 Dec 2025, 14:37 GMT
- Award decision expected by322 days ago8 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Standstill ends319 days ago11 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts209 days ago1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
8 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 30 May 2025- Pipeline notice published30 May 2025, 12:01 BSTUK1
- Tender notice published10 Jun 2025, 15:16 BSTUK4
- Status changed to active10 Jun 2025, 15:16 BST
- Procurement method changed10 Jun 2025, 15:16 BST
- Deadline published: 22 Aug 2025, 16:00 BST10 Jun 2025, 15:16 BST
- Contract award notice published2 Dec 2025, 14:37 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete2 Dec 2025, 14:37 GMT
- Contract signature expected1 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| BOLTON MIDDLEBROOK LEISURE TRUSTVCSE1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2036 · up to 1 Apr 2041Extensions: A break clause after ten years allows the Authority to review the providers and opt to extend for a further five years, but only if the providers continue to meet the contractual requirements. | £12,553,670 inc. VAT | 2 Dec 2025standstill to 11 Dec 2025 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3final-stage tenders | 0 | 1 | — |
Who bid
- wonBOLTON MIDDLEBROOK LEISURE TRUSTVCSE · North West England
- did not winSERCO LEISURE OPERATING LIMITED · South East England
- did not winSports and Leisure Management Ltd · East Midlands
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
3 commercial parties on the notice · 1 awarded- BOLTON MIDDLEBROOK LEISURE TRUSTAwarded supplier
- SERCO LEISURE OPERATING LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- Sports and Leisure Management LtdBidder / tenderer
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender