Find a TenderPlanned procurementPlanned procurement notice
Published 27 Oct 2026, 10:18 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Manual RF cryogenic probe station with four RF probe arms and cryogen-free operation

Authority: NPL Management Limited (Public body)

GoodsOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitableAccelerated
Planned pipeline value£310,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 4 Jan 2027from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 1 yrends 1 Feb 2028 · starts 1 Feb 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

NPL require a RF cryogenic probe station with four installed RF probe arms. The system must support cryogen-free operation using a closed cycle refrigerator. The base temperature must not exceed 5.5 K, and the temperature must be controllable from 6 K to 350 K. The system must support RF measurements from DC to 40 GHz using groundsignal-

ground (GSG) probes. The system must accommodate samples with a diameter of at least 2 inches. Vibration at the sample stage must be less than 1 micrometre.

The system must include all necessary components, including a turbomolecular pumping system, a microscope with a zoom ratio of at least 12:1, probes, and a calibration substrate.

The supplier must install and verify the system and provide user training.

CPV: Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) · Probes

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Planned 1 yrSMEVCSEPublished value£310,000
Contract period: 1 Feb 2027 – 1 Feb 2028 (1 yr)Value: £310,000 exc. VAT · £372,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How NPL Management Limited buys Medical consumables (CPV 3314), and who usually turns up

NPL Management Limited’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Medical consumables (CPV 3314) →

1

How the contest usually goes

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

Question for the bid
This buyerNPL Management Limited · all categories
The marketMedical consumables (CPV 3314) · UK-wide
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: 53 of 216 known-size awards · market: CPV 3314 · UK-wide, n=201
25%41%

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.

Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.

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

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 31 of 32 known-location awards · market: CPV 3314 · UK-wide, n=123
97%28%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.

How long to a decision?
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.

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

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 4 decided notices · market: CPV 3314 · UK-wide, n=13
48 days73 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 48 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 18 of 338 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 3314 · UK-wide, n=299
5%74%

Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.

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 buyerToo few to chart: 2 lots with bid counts, 5 needed · all categories
The market48 lots with bid counts · CPV 3314 · UK-wide
13% had one bid
Market · select a colour for counts
1 bid13%
Market: 6 of 48 lots with published bid counts.
2–317%
Market: 8 of 48 lots with published bid counts.
4–623%
Market: 11 of 48 lots with published bid counts.
7+48%
Market: 23 of 48 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 buyerNo estimate-and-award pairs published
The market19 lots with estimate and award · CPV 3314 · UK-wide
53% below estimate
Market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate53%
Market: 10 of 19 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%26%
Market: 5 of 19 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate21%
Market: 4 of 19 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 331412 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£310k
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. The bar shows 48 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet13% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 48 similar lots
1 bid13%
6 of 48 similar past lots received 1 bid (13%).
2–317%
8 of 48 similar past lots received 2–3 (17%).
4–623%
11 of 48 similar past lots received 4–6 (23%).
7+48%
23 of 48 similar past lots received 7+ (48%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 6 bids.
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.

No comparable awards for this lot yet.

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

—No model forecast yet
No comparable awards on record for this lot’s category yet. The published estimate is £310k, and the forecast stays empty until the market has a record to read.

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.

Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.

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 earlier-work matches 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
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Goods
Notice status
Planned procurement
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
27 Oct 2026, 10:18 GMT
Last source update
27 Oct 2026, 10:31 GMT
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 1 Feb 2027
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-101383
Accelerated
Qualifying planned procurement notice
Latest notice
Planned procurement notice (UK3)
Classification (CPV)
Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)Probes
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0790d7 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
19 Jan 2027, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
11 Jan 2027, 12:00 GMT
Electronic submission
Not allowed
Accepted languages
en

Timeline

27 Oct 2026 → 1 Feb 2027 · 7 dates
  1. Planning notice published11h ago
    27 Oct 2026, 10:18 GMT
  2. Today
    27 Oct 2026
  3. Market engagementin 17 days
    13 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT

    Prior to initiating the procurement, NPL wishes to establish the level of market interest in the forthcoming procurement process.

    Suitably qualified and experienced suppliers who may have an interest in this project are invited to register for this Preliminary Market Engagement.

    The purpose of the market engagement is to help assess the reaction of the market, to understand risks and future possibilities to ensure a future proofed procurement strategy and resulting contract.

    Any submission received in response to this exercise will not constitute any contractual agreement between the respondent and NPL. Nor does the receipt of a response automatically include the respondent in the procurement process.

    A Tender Notice will be issued to the market which will provide details of how the relating procurement documentation can be accessed and timescales for submission of the said tender response.

    Interested parties shall bear their own costs of participation in this Market Engagement of whatever nature. NPL shall not be liable for the costs, expenses or losses howsoever arising (including, without limitation, any loss of profit or other economic loss incurred), regardless of the outcome of the Market Engagement.

    The next stage in the process will be considered once this exercise has been completed.

    If you have any questions, or would like to register interest to the above, please [email protected] to request a Preliminary Market Engagement Supplier Questionnaire.

  4. Tender notice expectedin 69 days
    4 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
  5. Clarification questions byin 75 days
    11 Jan 2027, 12:00 GMT
  6. Submission deadlinein 83 days
    19 Jan 2027, 12:00 GMT
  7. Contract startsin 96 days
    1 Feb 2027
  8. Award decision expected byin 97 days
    1 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT

Notice history

5 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 27 Oct 2026
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    27 Oct 2026, 10:18 GMT
    UK2
  2. Planned procurement notice published
    27 Oct 2026, 10:31 GMT
    UK3
  3. Status changed to planned
    27 Oct 2026, 10:31 GMT
  4. Procurement method changed
    27 Oct 2026, 10:31 GMT
  5. Deadline published: 19 Jan 2027, 12:00 GMT
    27 Oct 2026, 10:31 GMT

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

NPL Management Limited

Contracting authorityPublic undertaking GB-COH: 02937881 · GB-PPON: PYDB-8862-JBYM National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, London, TW11 0LWContact email

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure