Official UK procurement notice
Patent Renewal Management Service
Authority: Aston University (Education)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionAston University is seeking to procure a Patent Renewal Management Service.
To assist with the initial stages of planning, the service is expected to include:
- Monitoring of patent renewal deadlines across multiple jurisdictions
- Provision of periodic renewal schedules
- Execution of patent renewals in line with Aston University instructions
- Consolidated invoicing and financial reporting
- Forecasting of future renewal costs
- Maintenance of records and provision of supporting documentation
The service will apply to a global portfolio of approximately 75 active patents.
Please note, this scope is subject to change.
CPV: Legal services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How ASTON UNIVERSITY buys Legal services (CPV 7910), and who usually turns up
ASTON UNIVERSITY’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: Legal services (CPV 7910) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
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 West Midlands.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside West Midlands.
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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.
Half of these awards were announced within 75 days of the bid deadline.
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.
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.
1 bid0% / 23%
2–338% / 15%
4–638% / 8%
7+25% / 54%
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.
Below estimate67% / 17%
Within ±2%22% / 67%
Above estimate11% / 17%
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.
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 7910Published estimate£250k
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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 13 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid23%
2–315%
4–68%
7+54%
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.
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.
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washroom Services LtdLive contract | Water Management Servicesruns to Dec 2028 | — | — | Matched as the earlier contract |
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.
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.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
49% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
49% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (49% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
Water Management Services — held by Washroom Services Ltd; the published contract ends 22 Dec 2028.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- 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
- 20 May 2026, 10:05 BST
- Last source update
- 20 May 2026, 10:05 BST
- Authority reference
1292- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-046125- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-069cc1Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
20 May 2026 → 1 Sept 2026 · 3 dates- Planning notice published153 days ago20 May 2026, 10:05 BST
- Market engagement141 days ago1 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
Aston University is beginning the pre-market engagement process in relation to its patent renewal management requirements.
The University is considering the procurement of a centralised service to manage patent renewals across its global intellectual property portfolio. This may be delivered through a single contract.
Aston is inviting responses to a Request for Information (RFI) to obtain feedback from the market. This will help the University to better understand:
- Available service delivery models
- Pricing structures and potential efficiencies
- Implementation requirements and onboarding processes
- Market capability and capacity
The information gathered will be used to inform the specification, procurement strategy, and route to market.
Suppliers are also invited to highlight any aspects of the proposed scope that may restrict competition or present delivery challenges.
The information being requested is as follows:
- Supplier Name, Address and Company Registration no
- If approved, how long would implementation take and what would need to be provided from Aston?
- Please provide information on how the service would function
- What would be the expected or required process and deadlines for approving renewals
- Is there any more detail or specifications you would need to submit a bid?
Please submit your responses to [email protected] by 17:00 on 01/06/2026
- Contract starts50 days ago1 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published20 May 2026, 10:05 BSTUK2
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
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender