Official UK procurement notice
PR Services in North America: Business to Business PR Focus
Authority: VisitScotland·Consortium: 4 public authorities
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionVisitScotland is looking to contract a full-service Public Relations agency with specialised expertise in the Business travel sector to deliver a wide portfolio of PR activities in the US and Canada in support of VisitScotland’s global brand strategy.
- Recurrence: December 2028
CPV: Public relations services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Places
- up to 2 suppliers · 4 bids on the busiest of 2 lots (2.0 per place) · 2 appointed (full)
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · 1 with a published value · a supplier may bid for at most 2 of them · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Consumer Focus PRRenewalPublished value£615,000
Lot #2Business to Business Focus PRCancelledRenewalLot estimate not published
VisitScotland has contracted with two full-service Public Relations agencies (one for each lot) with specialised expertise in the travel sector to deliver a wide portfolio of PR activities in the US and Canada in support of VisitScotland’s global brand strategy.
Lot 2 is for a Business to Business-focused PR service.
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 (2)
- Technical: 60%
- price: 40%
Published award criteria (2)
- Technical: 60
- Price: 40
- Staff
- Names and qualifications of delivery staff must be submitted
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “PR Services in North America: Business to Business PR Focus” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 2 suppliers, not a single contract.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- 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 · December 2028
- First published
- 15 Aug 2022, 14:39 BST
- Last source update
- 18 Feb 2026, 15:18 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- 20 Mar 2026 – …
- Authority reference
VSEH26003- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-014877- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-035bd2Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
Publisher note: NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Public Contracts Scotland Web Site at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=824073. The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx. Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems. (SC Ref:824073) Download the ESPD document here: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/ESPD/ESPD_Download.aspx?id=824073
How it was run
Official noticeTender documents are also served through a separate tool: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk ↗
- Appointment period ends
- 20 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 180 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 20 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
Timeline
18 Feb 2026 → 20 Mar 2026 · 3 dates- Notice published246 days ago18 Feb 2026, 15:18 GMT
- Admission / appointment period ends216 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown20 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Bids opened216 days ago20 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
Notice history
10 events · 6 releases on Find a Tender · since 14 Sept 2022- Deadline moved to 20 Sept 2022, 12:00 BST14 Sept 2022, 12:19 BST+1 days · was 19 Sept 2022, 12:00 BST
- Status changed to complete7 Apr 2023, 16:44 BST
- Published value published: £209,79615 Sept 2025, 13:01 BST
- Status changed to active15 Sept 2025, 13:01 BST
- Deadline moved to 17 Oct 2025, 12:00 BST15 Sept 2025, 13:01 BST+1123 days · was 20 Sept 2022, 12:00 BST
- Buyer details updated15 Sept 2025, 13:01 BST
- Published value updated to £615,0003 Oct 2025, 15:36 BSTwas £209,796
- Deadline moved to 4 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT3 Oct 2025, 15:36 BST+18 days · was 17 Oct 2025, 12:00 BST
- Published value updated to £209,79618 Feb 2026, 15:18 GMTwas £615,000
- Deadline moved to 20 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT18 Feb 2026, 15:18 GMT+136 days · was 4 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
Published amendments (1 · 1 deadline change)
| When | What | Before | After | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DeadlineTime limit · IV.2.2 | 19 Sept 2022 | 20 Sept 2022 | +1 d |
| — | Bid openingConditions for opening of tenders · IV.2.7 | 19 Sept 2022 | 20 Sept 2022 | +1 d |
Monday 19 September is now a Public Holiday in the UK, so time to post has been extended by 24 hours. Regards
Routine re-releases (6)
- 2023-04: 1 release · 7 Apr 2023
- 2022-09: 1 release · 14 Sept 2022
- 2022-08: 1 release · 15 Aug 2022
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast2 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.
Contracts
Business to Business Focus PR
- Signed
- 7 Feb 2023
- Value
- £232,000
- Status
- active
Consumer Focus PR
- Signed
- 20 Jan 2023
- Value
- £703,000
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Consumer Focus PR | 4bids · 4 electronic · 4 from abroad | 4 | — | — |
| 2 · Business to Business Focus PR | 4bids · 4 electronic · 4 from abroad | 4 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
3 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- Scottish GovernmentContracting authority
- Scottish Government - BrandScotlandContracting authority
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Edinburgh Sheriff CourtReview body
Framework contractors & participating bidders
2 commercial parties on the notice- Development Counsellors IntlFramework contractor
- Laura Davidson Public RelationsFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.