Official UK procurement notice
Portsmouth City Council - Care and Support in Extra Care Housing - 2025
Authority: Portsmouth City Council (Local council)
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionPortsmouth City Council ('the council') has invited tenders for the provision of care and support in Extra Care Housing.
AWARD & STANDSTILL PERIOD
Following receipt of tenders on 25th July 2025 the Council has concluded the assessment process and issued assessment summaries to the successful and unsuccessful suppliers as required under Section 50 of the Procurement Act 23 (the 'Act').
The Council issued Assessment Summaries and an Award Notice (2025/S 000-050913) on 22nd August 2025 which instigated the start of an 8 working day voluntary standstill period, in line with section 51 of the Act.
As set out within the Award Notice and within the associated procurement documents, the Council reserved the right to amend (extend) the Standstill Period if needed on the condition that if this right is exercised, the Contract Award Notice will be updated and affected suppliers will be notified accordingly.
The Council has taken the decision to extend the standstill period which was due to end at midnight at the end of Wednesday 3rd September 2025 to midnight at the end of Thursday 11th September 2025.
The Council has alerted affected suppliers via it's e-sourcing system In-tend and is now issuing a further Award Notice to formally extend the standstill period in line with the UK central government guidance issued by the Cabinet Office.
As the only changes are in relation to the extension period the Council will cross reference to the details already provided within the original Award Notice issued on 22nd August 2025 wherever possible.
DESCRIPTION OF CONTRACT
See description text within original Award Notice ( 2025/S 000-050913).
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 25 Jun 2029, 23:59 BST.
CPV: Residential health facilities services · Services provided by medical personnel · Social services
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · all with a published value (£70,500,000 together) · win at most 1 of them · same conditions of participation on every lot · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1• Lot 1 - Brunel Court, Caroline Square and Milton VillageAwardedRenewalPublished value£43,000,000
Lot 1 - Brunel Court, Caroline Square and Milton Village - £2.2M per annum (1417 hours of planned care in total, plus block hours)
As per the scope, providers will be responsible for delivering specialist sheltered housing, designed to offer a safe, private and secure environment for residents to maintain their independence, whilst having the benefits of having staff on hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The contract values included on this lot are based on current levels of demand and the previous year's spend. However, the value of the opportunity can fluctuate dependent on the needs of the individuals, occupancy and the size of the block.
The contract term lots will be for 4 years with options to extend in increments to be agreed up to a maximum of 6 years.
The are extra care schemes across Lot 1 are as follows -
- Brunel Court - located in Nuffield Place, 55 apartments.
www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-11428753194 ↗
- Milton Village - located in Moorings Way, incorporates 65 apartments built as a complex. This is over 3 separate buildings - Crane Court (12 apartments) Osprey Court (16 apartments) and Brent Court (37 apartments).
www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-11428753457 ↗
- Caroline Square - located in Portsea, 43 apartments.
- Economic & financial standing
As described in the procurement specific questionnaire and the Invitation to Tender.
- Technical & professional ability
As described in the procurement specific questionnaire and the Invitation to Tender.
Lot #2Maritime HouseAwardedRenewalPublished value£27,500,000
Lot 2 - Maritime House £1.4M per annum (960 hours of planned care, plus block hours)
As per the scope, providers will be responsible for delivering specialist sheltered housing, designed to offer a safe, private and secure environment for residents to maintain their independence, whilst having the benefits of having staff on hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The contract values included on this lot are based on current levels of demand and the previous year's spend. However, the value of the opportunity can fluctuate dependent on the needs of the individuals, occupancy and the size of the block.
The contract term lots will be for 4 years with options to extend in increments to be agreed up to a maximum of 6 years.
The are extra care schemes across Lot 2 are as follows -
- Maritime House - located in Northern Parade, 80 apartments.
- Economic & financial standing
As described in the procurement specific questionnaire and the Invitation to Tender.
- Technical & professional ability
As described in the procurement specific questionnaire and the Invitation to Tender.
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 (10)
- Turnaround - Improving Quality: 15%
- Mobilisation: 15%
- Delivery Team and Key Personnel: 5%
- Scenario A: 10%
- Scenario B: 10%
- Balancing needs: 5%
- Contingency planning: 5%
- Community: 5%
- Hourly capped rate: 29.99%
- Turnaround cost: 0.01%
Published award criteria (10)
- Turnaround - Improving Quality
- Mobilisation
- Delivery Team and Key Personnel
- Scenario A
- Scenario B
- Balancing needs
- Contingency planning
- Community
- Hourly capped rate: The weighting for this question is 30% but criterion 10 cannot be listed as 0, so a 0.01 has been allocated on the notice.
- Turnaround cost: This question is for information only, the weighting on the notice has been included as 0.01 as a weighting of 0 cannot not be listed.
- Economic & financial standing
As described in the procurement specific questionnaire and the Invitation to Tender.
- Technical & professional ability
As described in the procurement specific questionnaire and the Invitation to Tender.
- 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- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 25 Jun 2029
- First published
- 22 Aug 2025, 14:18 BST
- Last source update
- 3 Sept 2025, 17:31 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 29 Aug 2025
- Authority reference
P00005115- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-035224- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05111aFind a Tender
- Risks
Provider Performance & Continuity Options
As already identified above, the Council require the current service provisions to improve across all the sites, under both the lotting options. The Council are investing additional turnaround funding to improve the service provisions within the first nine to twelve months of the mobilisation of the new contract.
If a provider under either lot cannot satisfy the requirements to demonstrate the service has improved within this timescale, and the subsequent contract is to be terminated, the Council reserve the right to use any of the following options at their discretion to award a contract to an alternative provider -
- If the lot 1 provider fails to meet the agreed performance requirements, the Council reserves the right to award the contract to the lot 2 provider.
- If the lot 2 provider fails to meet the agreed performance requirements, the Council reserves the right to award the contract to the lot 1 provider.
- If a provider under lot 1 and/or lot 2 fails to meet the required performance standards, the Council reserves the right to engage the next highest-ranked provider from the original tender evaluation for the relevant lot. Should the next ranked provider decline the opportunity, the Council will proceed to engage with the subsequent ranked provider(s) within that lot, in order of ranking, until a suitable provider is secured.
In order for the Council to consider any direct award options, providers must continue to meet all minimum requirements as originally set out in the conditions of participation.
This includes maintaining compliance with applicable legislation, statutory guidance, and regulatory standards in force at the time of award. Providers must also remain responsive to any changes in law and associated regulations. Failure to meet these evolving requirements may disqualify a provider from consideration for direct award.
Providers will not be able to exceed the current applicable hourly rate when looking at any potential direct award options.
The Council cannot confirm whether any additional transformation funding will be available and to what level this could subsequently be.
During the contractual term of either lot 1 or lot 2, the Council reserves the right to engage alternative providers, as outlined above, should any capacity or capability issues arise with the incumbent supplier under the relevant lot. For example, if the Council has grounds to terminate a contract due to poor performance or a provider was to become insolvent, it may approach the provider under the other lot or engage with the next ranked provider(s) from the original tender shortlist, in order of ranking.
In circumstances where a contract award is required outside of the initial 12-month mobilisation period, the Council may award the subsequent contract either for the remaining term originally available to the incumbent provider or for a new initial term of four years, with the option to extend by a further six years. This flexibility ensures continuity of service and accommodates potential implications under TUPE regulations.
Should the Council need to take up any of the contingency options under either or both of the lotting options, this could increase the overall level of potential spend for this opportunity to a total of £70.5M.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 25 Jul 2025, 14:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 18 Jul 2025, 16:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
12 May 2025 → 1 Dec 2025 · 11 dates- Planning notice published12 May 2025, 15:00 BST
- Market engagement30 May 2025, 23:59 BST
OVERVIEW
The Council is undertaking a PME exercise to gather insights from the market ahead of a future procurement process to award a contract for delivery of the services summarised within the 'Scope' section of this PME Notice.
The procurement process will commence in June 2025 with award targeted for August 2025 to allow for mobilisation and commencement of services on 1st December 2025.
This engagement aims to assess the markets interest in the contract, explore commercial models, and understand the markets capability and capacity. By engaging with suppliers, the Council seeks to ensure that any potential procurement strategy is well-informed, commercially viable, and aligned with industry best practices.
Additionally, this process will help identify potential risks, opportunities, and ensuring the successful and efficient delivery of any potential contract.
The Preliminary Market Engagement exercise shall comprise of a Microsoft Teams meeting outlining the current service delivery, the Councils expectations for the future delivery of the service, procurement strategy and submission and subsequent analysis of engagement questionnaires.
To assist suppliers with understanding the purpose of the questionnaire and effectively answer the questions, the Council will provide an overview of the questionnaire at the Microsoft Teams session.
Following the Microsoft Teams meeting the Council will issue the market engagement questionnaire via In-tend.
The Microsoft Teams session will take place at the 21st May 2025 at 13:30.
The questionnaire will be published following this session and should be completed and returned by 30th May 2025 23:59.
PME PRINCIPLES
The Council wishes to engage with suppliers who have experience in undertaking care and support in Extra Care Housing. In summary, the preliminary market engagement objectives are to:
- Share Information:
o Current requirements, demand, and cost models,
o Envisaged contracting strategy, including duration and extension options,
o Envisaged timeline,
o Envisaged commercial and management model.
- Review and Understand:
o Market capacity and capability to deliver the future requirements,
o Market interest,
o Ability to manage likely TUPE transfer considerations,
o Costing options, pressures, and budget.
- Inform the development of the procurement strategy:
o The contract delivery strategy,
o The scope of the contract,
o Commercial model,
o Procurement strategy, including programme, conditions of participation, tender award criteria,
o Budget.
The key areas the Council are seeking feedback from the market through gathering information through the engagement questionnaire are -
- Market Capacity
o Geographic Coverage: where suppliers currently operate in relation to the Council's location.
- Market Capability
o Envisaged Scope: understand and review the scope
- Market Commercial Perspectives
o Pricing Models and Budget: review the market norms on how such services are costed over term of contract, sufficiency of budget.
o Contractual and Legal Considerations: review of market norms in respect of the suggested contractual model, term, and other options.
REQUESTS TO PARTICPATE IN PME INSTRUCTIONS
Suppliers interested in taking part in Microsoft Teams session or Questionnaire Guidance meeting on Microsoft Teams are required to complete the following forms which are accessible via In-tend:
- the Participation Request form
- Conflicts of Interest Declaration
Suppliers are required to return the forms by no later than 20th May 2025 at 12:00 and submit via In-tend correspondence function.
MICROSOFT TEAMS SESSION
The Council shall be holding an online Microsoft Teams session on the 21st May at 13:30. The draft agenda for this event is as follows:
- Welcome and introductions,
- PCC Presentation
- Questions and answers
Suppliers are required to complete and return the request for participation form which can be downloaded from the Council's intend portal and submit via In-tend correspondence function.
MARKET ENGAGEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE GUIDANCE
A word version of the questionnaire will be provided after the completion of this meeting through In-tend. Suppliers are encouraged but not obliged to complete the questionnaire.
Completing the online questionnaire will help the Council to understand the delivery options of the contract provision and subsequently, the structure of the procurement to ensure it can be carried out by the market and optimises the participation of suppliers, including SMEs.
The Council are requesting the questionnaire is completed by 30th May 2025 by 23:59, any responses after this deadline may not be considered in the PME report. Completed questionnaires are to be submit via In-tend through making a return against the In-tend PME stage.
PME ANALYSIS & REPORTING
The Council reserves the right to contact suppliers following submission of questionnaires in order to gain clarification and understanding of the responses. This will be via In-tend correspondence.
Any suppliers who submit a completed questionnaire will be sent a copy of the draft PME Feedback Report, which will accompany the procurement process documentation. This report shall provide a summary of the overall trends in the response received against the areas of consideration.
The Council are aiming to have collated the PME feedback by 4th June 2025 to issue the draft report via Intend correspondence for suppliers to review.
PME CLARIFCIATION PROTOCOLS
Any queries, questions or clarifications regarding this preliminary market engagement exercise must be made in writing using the project correspondence facility on the In-tend system.
Any questions and answers from either event will be recorded via a separate clarification log and will be published to Intend for all suppliers to access, unless deemed commercially sensitive. The Council will be recording the Microsoft Teams meeting and will subsequently make this available as part of the PME brief via In-tend.
For full details of the clarification process suppliers should review Appendix I - Intend Guidance accessible via In-tend.
GENERAL
Suppliers should note that there is no obligation to take part in this exercise and that if they do not take part, it will not preclude them from any subsequent related procurement process.
Engaging suppliers will not receive preferential treatment in any subsequent tender process, and this is in no way an indication of the selection of any organisation or a guarantee of future work.
Completing the survey will help the Council to review the scope of service to allow the optimal means for suppliers, including SMEs, to participate in any subsequent procurement.
- Tender notice published25 Jun 2025, 17:56 BST
- Next notice expected25 Jun 2025, 23:59 BST
- Clarification questions by18 Jul 2025, 16:00 BST
- Submission deadline25 Jul 2025, 14:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent22 Aug 2025, 00:00 BST
- Award decision expected by29 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published3 Sept 2025, 17:31 BST
- Standstill ends3 Sept 2025, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts326 days ago1 Dec 2025
Notice history
6 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 12 May 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published12 May 2025, 15:00 BSTUK2
- Pipeline notice published23 May 2025, 11:35 BSTUK1
- Tender notice published25 Jun 2025, 17:56 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published22 Aug 2025, 14:18 BSTUK6
- Contract award notice published3 Sept 2025, 17:31 BSTUK6
- Contract signature expected12 Sept 2025, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · • Lot 1 - Brunel Court, Caroline Square and Milton Village2 awards | |||
| Apex Prime CareSME1 Dec 2025 – 30 Nov 2029 · up to 30 Nov 2035Extensions: The contract term will be for 4 years with options to extend in increments to be agreed up to a maximum of 6 years. The total duration of the contract could therefore equate to 10 years. | £43,000,000same award published again · counted once | 14 Aug 2025standstill to 3 Sept 2025 | Standstill |
| Apex Prime CareSME1 Dec 2025 – 30 Nov 2029 · up to 30 Nov 2035Extensions: The contract term will be for 4 years with options to extend in increments to be agreed up to a maximum of 6 years. The total duration of the contract could therefore equate to 10 years. | £43,000,000 | 14 Aug 2025 | Awarded |
| Lot 2 · Maritime House2 awards | |||
| Chosen Care Group Limited1 Dec 2025 – 30 Nov 2029 · up to 30 Nov 2035Extensions: The contract term will be for 4 years with options to extend in increments to be agreed up to a maximum of 6 years. The total duration of the contract could therefore equate to 10 years | £27,500,000same award published again · counted once | 14 Aug 2025standstill to 3 Sept 2025 | Standstill |
| Chosen Care Group Limited1 Dec 2025 – 30 Nov 2029 · up to 30 Nov 2035Extensions: The contract term will be for 4 years with options to extend in increments to be agreed up to a maximum of 6 years. The total duration of the contract could therefore equate to 10 years. | £27,500,000 | 14 Aug 2025 | Awarded |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · • Lot 1 - Brunel Court, Caroline Square and Milton Village | 6final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
| 2 · Maritime House | 6final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- wonAPEX PRIME CARE LTDSME · East of England · all lots
- wonCHOSEN CARE GROUP LIMITED · Greater London · all lots
- did not winAGINCARE UK LIMITED · South West England · all lots
- did not winHELPERS HOMECARE LIMITED · East Midlands · all lots
- did not winEdora Care Plus Limited · Greater London · all lots
- did not winMAYFAIR HOMECARE LIMITED · West Midlands · all lots
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
6 commercial parties on the notice · 2 awarded- AGINCARE UK LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- APEX PRIME CARE LTDAwarded supplier
- CHOSEN CARE GROUP LIMITEDAwarded supplier
- Edora Care Plus LimitedBidder / tenderer
- HELPERS HOMECARE LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- MAYFAIR HOMECARE LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
Official documents & specifications (8)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Preliminary Market Engagement Report following the PME noticed published on 12th May 2025 - Notice Identifier 2025/S 000-020541.
Notices published for this procedure
- 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
- 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
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender