Official UK procurement notice
Portable Staging, Lighting and Sound
Authority: the Education Authority (Central government)
What is being bought3 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThis Framework Agreement is established by the Education Authority and is open to the EA, including NI educational bodies as follows, who at some point during the life of the Agreement may wish to utilise the agreement and should have access at any point, with the permission of EA.
This Framework Agreement is not intended to replace any current agreements that participating or nonparticipating institutions may already have in place. Participating institutions may include;
Department of Education - Schools Plus www.educationni.gov.uk/services/schoolsplus ↗
Primary and Post Primary schools under the control of the EA, Catholic Maintained Schools,
Independent Schools in NI, Irish Medium Schools in NI, both Controlled and Voluntary
Grammar Schools, Nursery School for NI (both controlled, and Catholic Maintained), school
meals kitchens on-site at all of these schools, and Controlled Youth Centres.
FE Colleges : www.nidirect.gov.uk/contacts/further-edu… ↗
Further Education Colleges in NI
NICIE - nicie.org ↗
Grant Controlled Integrated Education Schools in NI
Independent Schools in NI www.isc.co.uk/schools/northern-ire… ↗
EA Teachers' and Educational Centres
Council for the Curriculum, Examination and Assessment NI (CCEA)
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium
Middletown Centre for Autism
Controlled Schools Support Council (CSSC)
Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE)
Pre-Schools and Nurseries included within the EA's Pre-School Education Programme
(PSEP)
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 5 Mar 2029, 23:59 GMT.
CPV: Electrical equipment and apparatus · Electrical machinery, apparatus, equipment and consumables; lighting · Lighting equipment and electric lamps · Miscellaneous furniture and equipment · Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment · School furniture
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
- Places
- up to 20 suppliers · 2 bids received (0.1 per place) · 2 appointed
- Framework period
- 4 yrs from 1 Sept 2025, N/A
- Supplier levy on call-offs (max %)
- N/A
Published description of the framework
The Buyer may purchase items from the Framewrok Agreement via direct call-off or via a mini-competition.
The Buyer reserves the right to conduct mini-competitions for any additional requirements over and above those listed under the Framework Agreement but which fall within the scope of the Framework Agreement, or for any requirements over the value of £10,000 within a Lot during the period of the Framework Agreement.
Any mini-competition will be based on 100% price, however there may be a requirement for additional mandatory criteria specific to each project, for example supply/installation by a specified time date. For the avoidance of doubt, there is no obligation on the Buyer to conduct a mini-competition for requirements in excess of £10,000 within a Lot, however the Buyer may do this should they envisage a mini-competition could deliver better value for money.
Lots and requirements (3)Procurement structure
3 lots · all with a published value · same conditions of participation on every lot · same evaluation weights on every lotEvery one of these 2 lots carries the same published figure, £350,000: it is the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each lot's own budget, and no share per lot is published. The cards below say ceiling above rather than repeat it.
Lot #1Portable StagingAwardedPublished value£300,000
Lot 1 is for the supply and delivery of portable staging.
- Economic & financial standing
N/A
- Technical & professional ability
CoP - Technical ability to perform the contract - Previous Experience
Lot #2Stage Lighting EquipmentAwardedceiling above
Lot 2 is for the supply, delivery and installation of stage lighting equipment.
- Economic & financial standing
N/A
- Technical & professional ability
CoP - Technical ability to perform the contract - Previous Experience
Lot #3Stage Sound EquipmentAwardedceiling above
Lot 3 is for the supply, delivery and installation of stage sound equipment.
- Economic & financial standing
N/A
- Technical & professional ability
CoP - Technical ability to perform the contract - Previous Experience
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 (1)
- Quantitative Award Criteria: 100%
Published award criteria (1)
- Quantitative Award Criteria: Total Price for Evaluation per section/lot
- Economic & financial standing
N/A
- Technical & professional ability
CoP - Technical ability to perform the contract - Previous Experience
- Price carries 100 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 10 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
- “Portable Staging, Lighting and Sound” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 20 suppliers, not a single contract: call-offs may be direct or by further competition.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
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
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 5 Mar 2029
- First published
- 14 Aug 2025, 15:12 BST
- Last source update
- 15 Sept 2025, 14:52 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 14 Aug 2025
- Authority reference
FAE-24-002- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-026760- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-051df0Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
Orders, if any, may vary from single articles upwards and will be spread over the full period of the Framework Agreement. It is stressed that no guarantee is given that subsequent orders will be placed with a Supplier for any items awarded on the Framework Agreement.
The Buyer will not accept liability for any invoices that do not quote a purchase order number and no goods shall be provided by Suppliers without a confirmed purchase order.
The Supplier must ensure that purchase orders received state the correct prices including all delivery and installation fees (where required), or return for correction prior to the order being fulfilled, as discrepancies could result in delays to invoice payments where purchase orders and invoices do not match.
All delivery, credit notes and invoices submitted must be original documents, copies (NCR, photocopies, or emailed documents) are not acceptable.
Invoices must be in sterling (GBP).
The Supplier must submit invoices directly to the address specified below:
Dundonald, Grahamsbridge Road, Dundonald, Belfast, BT16 2HS or alternative Northern Ireland address, if notified of change by EA during the life of the framework agreement.
On receipt of a valid invoice payments will be made by BACS transfer to the Supplier’s nominated account within 30 days. Suppliers are responsible for providing the details of their nominated bank account.
The Buyer reserves the right to withhold payment against any invoice which is not submitted in accordance with the framework agreement, or which covers or purports to relate to goods which have not been provided in accordance with the Framework Agreement and shall forthwith notify the Supplier accordingly in writing.
All invoices must be made payable to the Supplier and not to any nominated sub-Supplier(s) of the Supplier.
- Risks
The estimated Framework value includes a contingency for expenditure attributed for potential Capital Projects and ad hoc school system upgrade requirements, however, the cost and number of these occurring in the next four years is currently unknown, and could be impacted by a number of unforeseen events such as breakdowns or macro events impacting market price volatility. In addition, the availability of capital funding for schools, the level of which is currently unknown over the next four years may serve to increase or reduce demand for the equipment on this Framework Agreement and could be impacted by the ability to take forward refurbishment projects or new builds. The Buyer reserves the right to increase the value of the Framework in the event additional value is required to purchase portable staging, stage lighting or stage sound equipment as a result of these events.
The Buyer cannot guarantee any particular level of business (volumes/values) within the
Framework Agreement.
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 25 Jun 2025, 15:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 13 Jun 2025, 15:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
- Supplier levy on call-offs (max %)
- call-off levy · N/A
Timeline
22 May 2025 → 15 Sept 2025 · 10 dates- Planning notice published22 May 2025, 14:00 BST
- Tender notice published23 May 2025, 15:33 BST
- Next notice expected23 May 2025, 23:59 BST
- Clarification questions by13 Jun 2025, 15:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period endsperiod end, not a bid countdown25 Jun 2025, 15:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent14 Aug 2025, 00:00 BST
- Award decision expected by14 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
- Standstill ends26 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts1 Sept 2025, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published400 days ago15 Sept 2025, 14:52 BST
Notice history
5 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 22 May 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published22 May 2025, 14:00 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published23 May 2025, 15:33 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published14 Aug 2025, 15:12 BSTUK6
- Contract signature expected27 Aug 2025, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published15 Sept 2025, 14:52 BSTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast£300,000 is the framework's published maximum, restated by the publisher on 2 award rows. It is one ceiling, not 2 separate sums, and no share per lot is published; those rows read “ceiling above”.
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · Portable Staging2 awards | |||
| ALBANY DMS LIMITEDSME1 Sept 2025 – 31 Aug 2029 | ceiling above | 13 Aug 2025 | Awarded |
| Creative Activity Group LtdSME1 Sept 2025 – 31 Aug 2029 | ceiling above | 13 Aug 2025 | Awarded |
| Across several lots1 award | |||
| supplier not published | — | 13 Aug 2024 | Awarded |
Contracts
All 2 of these contracts carry the same published figure, £300,000, the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each contract's own value. They are not eleven separate sums.
Portable Staging · ALBANY DMS LIMITEDSME
- Signed
- 27 Aug 2025
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- 1 Sept 2025 – 31 Aug 2029
- Status
- active
3 agreed KPIs: Delivery Time Period · Management Information · Complaints
- Delivery Time Period
- Management Information
- Complaints
Portable Staging · Creative Activity Group LtdSME
- Signed
- 27 Aug 2025
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- 1 Sept 2025 – 31 Aug 2029
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Portable Staging | 2final-stage tenders · 4 at stage one | 2 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Framework contractors & participating bidders
2 commercial parties on the notice- ALBANY DMS LIMITEDFramework contractor
- Creative Activity Group LtdFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (7)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender