Official UK procurement notice
Preliminary Market Engagement for Park Mall Redevelopment
Authority: Ashford Borough Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionAshford Borough Council (the Council) is undertaking a preliminary market engagement exercise with the intention of appointing a development partner for the Park Mall Redevelopment in Ashford town centre. This project forms a key element of the Council’s broader strategy to enhance the town centre’s appeal and act as a catalyst for regeneration, transforming the area into a vibrant and sought-after destination.
At this preliminary market engagement stage, the Council is seeking to engage with prospective developers to gather insights and gauge the market’s interest in the Redevelopment. It is anticipated that the formal procurement process for this project will commence in Summer 2026, with an expected contract award in Early 2027 and the delivery of the completed scheme within 3 years. Access Code : 3C545MW55W
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at:
www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/tenders/UK-UK-Ashfor… ↗
To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
CPV: Site-development work
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Ashford Borough Council buys Building demolition and wrecking work and earthmoving work (CPV 4511), and who usually turns up
Ashford Borough Council’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: Building demolition and wrecking work and earthmoving work (CPV 4511) →
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 South East England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in South East England.
i
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 30 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.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Awards are recorded, but published direct routes and bid counts do not establish this buyer’s share.
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 bid17% / 0%
2–38% / 38%
4–617% / 46%
7+58% / 15%
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 estimate53% / 65%
Within ±2%20% / 24%
Above estimate27% / 12%
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 4511Published estimate£120m
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 13 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid0%
2–338%
4–646%
7+15%
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
- Works
- 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
- 13 Apr 2026, 11:19 BST
- Last source update
- 13 Apr 2026, 11:19 BST
- Authority reference
ASH/25/189- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-033173- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0680d1Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
13 Apr 2026 → 31 Jan 2027 · 3 dates- Planning notice published190 days ago13 Apr 2026, 11:19 BST
- Market engagement144 days ago29 May 2026, 23:59 BST
Ashford Borough Council (the Council) is undertaking a preliminary market engagement exercise with the intention of appointing a development partner for the Park Mall Redevelopment in Ashford town centre. This project forms a key element of the Council’s broader strategy to enhance the town centre’s appeal and act as a catalyst for regeneration, transforming the area into a vibrant and sought-after destination.
At this preliminary market engagement stage, the Council is seeking to engage with prospective developers to gather insights and gauge the market’s interest in the Redevelopment. It is anticipated that the formal procurement process for this project will commence in Summer 2026, with an expected contract award in Early 2027 and the delivery of the completed scheme within 3 years.
The accompanying preliminary market questionnaire provides an opportunity for interested parties to communicate their preferences and capabilities in advance of any future tender process for the Redevelopment. All information submitted will be treated as confidential and will not be disclosed to any third parties.
Responses should be submitted via the Council’s designated electronic tender portal www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk ↗ by 10:00 BST on 29th May 2026.
Following receipt of completed questionnaires, the Council’s Project Team may invite developers to attend a meeting, during which further details regarding Ashford’s vision for the Redevelopment will be shared. These meetings, designed to facilitate discussion based on the responses provided, are expected to take place during June 2026.
- Today20 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 102 days31 Jan 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published13 Apr 2026, 11:19 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