Official UK procurement notice
Preliminary Market Engagement for a Proposed Procurement of Utilities for Education Buying Group Ltd
Authority: Education Buying Group Ltd (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionEducation Buying Group is a school-led, not-for-profit Public Sector Buying Organisation created to transform procurement for the education sector. Public procurement is complex. Schools and trusts must balance compliance, value for money, risk management and social responsibility – all while focusing on pupils and outcomes.
Its governance is led by Multi-Academy Trusts, ensuring procurement decisions are shaped by the real needs of the education sector.
For further information regarding Education Buying Group please visit: educationbuyinggroup.org.uk ↗
Education Buying Group Ltd (EBG Ltd) is inviting responses from providers of Energy/Utilities to this
Preliminary Market Engagement process in anticipation of a planned Tender process in summer 2026.
As Education Buying Group Ltd is a public sector buying organisation collaboration including Churchmarketplace the natural solution is to explore options for an ‘EBG’ Utilities Solution specifically for the Education Sector but with potential for access by the wider public sector.
At present, our proposed procurement strategy is for the procurement of gas, electricity and water to be included within the new utilities solution. This procurement is aimed at engaging suppliers of Power, Gas and or Water and is not for services provided by third party intermediaries/brokers.
Following initial consultation with the Education Sector via our EBG Ltd Partners and Customers we believe the most effective solution would be a Framework Arrangement with an initial period of 3 years with options to extend for 3 with a proposed lotting strategy as detailed in the PME Request for Information document.
EBG Ltd welcomes consultation with providers and suppliers of this category via a brief questionnaire to understand
and test our proposed procurement strategy, lotting strategy, inclusions and seek innovative proposals prior to finalising a tender
specification and tender process.
Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) is a “pre-procurement” process that enables contracting authorities and/or
procurement agents acting on behalf of contracting authorities that are subject to the Procurement Act 2023 to seek
responses from the market in a transparent, fair and equitable manner prior to any formal tender process.
The preliminary market engagement is your opportunity to influence the potential shape and solution of a future
procurement process. Through this process you can express views and confirm latest product/service developments
which may meet the need of the contracting authority.
This process is not a procurement process, although it may form part of a procurement process in the future and as
such will be conducted in accordance with The Procurement Act 2023.
The Contracting Authority reserves the right to invite any/all respondents to a meeting/presentation/interview following
the closing of the deadline for the receipt of questionnaires. The purpose of this invitation will be to understand and
clarify further aspects of the response.
Neither this document nor any associated Preliminary Market Engagement Notice constitutes a ‘call for competition’.
The contracting authority/procurement agent may decide following this process that a future procurement process is
not the right solution to meet the specific need identified.
No guarantee or warranty is given as to any statement made in these documents. Any information is given entirely in
good faith and liable to change as the future procurement process progresses. Respondents are advised therefore to
keep up to date on the progress of this process.
The contracting authority/procurement agent has an obligation to ensure the principles of equal treatment and
transparency as required by The Procurement Act 2023 are upheld throughout this process. It may be required
therefore to make available to future candidates and tenderers information provided during this PME process.
Respondents should also be aware that in some cases contracting authorities are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and as such no information provided by the market can be deemed exempt from disclosure.
All costs and expenses associated with participating in this PME process, including any invitations to meetings and/or
presentations will not be reimbursed.
Responses to this PME must be submitted no later than 12noon 29 June 2026 via the Delta e-Tendering Portal. All
PME documents are available to download via the Delta e-Tendering Portal.For more information about this
opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/3UFXJVQRP7 ↗
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at:
www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Cardif… ↗
To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
CPV: Electricity · Mains gas · Natural gas · Public utilities · Water mains
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 2 yrs 11 mo · up to 4 yrs 11 mo from 30 Sept 2026
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat 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).
- “Preliminary Market Engagement for a Proposed Procurement of Utilities…” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Education Buying Group Ltd buys Gaseous fuels (CPV 0912), and who usually turns up
Education Buying Group Ltd has little published record in this market. Compared with other frameworks and DPS only. Whole-market view: Gaseous fuels (CPV 0912) →
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.
Across this market, small firms won 0% of awards with a known supplier size.
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.
Across this market, 25% of winners were registered in the delivery region.
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.
Half of these awards have an award date within 31 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.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Across this market, 57% of awarded procurements had no recorded rival.
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 bid37%
2–332%
4–626%
7+5%
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.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS: the price is set later, on each call-off.
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 0912Published estimate£80m
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 19 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid37%
2–332%
4–626%
7+5%
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.
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.
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- 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
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 4 Jun 2026, 13:21 BST
- Last source update
- 4 Jun 2026, 13:21 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-052791- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ad77Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
4 Jun 2026 → 30 Sept 2026 · 3 dates- Planning notice published143 days ago4 Jun 2026, 13:21 BST
- Market engagement117 days ago29 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
Responses to this Preliminary Market Engagement can be submitted via the Delta eSourcing platform no later than 12noon 29 June 2026.
- Contract starts25 days ago30 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published4 Jun 2026, 13:21 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