Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 14 Jul 2026, 09:39 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Print Services Framework · UK public procurement notice

Authority: Transport for Greater Manchester (Public body)

Framework agreementGoodsAbove thresholdSME suitable
Planned pipeline value£1,500,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 1 Oct 2026from the planned procurement notice
Framework period 3 yrsends 30 Apr 2030 · up to 30 Apr 2031 with extensions · starts 1 May 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is seeking to establish a multi-supplier framework for the provision of print services to support a wide range of operational and customer-facing requirements across the organisation.

TfGM is responsible for delivering the Bee Network - an integrated, accessible and customer-focused transport system for Greater Manchester. As part of this, we produce a high volume and wide variety of printed materials that support passengers, promote services, and enable the effective operation of the network. This procurement is intended to ensure that these materials are delivered consistently, efficiently and to a high standard, while enabling TfGM to work with a range of suppliers, including local providers, where appropriate.

The TfGM Design Studio operates as an in-house creative and production service, responsible for the development and delivery of campaigns, passenger communications and branded materials across the Bee Network. The Studio plays a key role in ensuring brand consistency, quality and value for money, working closely with internal stakeholders and external suppliers to deliver work at pace and scale.

Through this framework, TfGM is seeking to appoint multiple suppliers to deliver print production services across three core areas:

  • Small and large format print, ranging from low-volume, ad hoc jobs to high-volume production runs
  • Exhibition print and production, from small portable assets through to large-scale installations (including installation where required)
  • Bus timetable and passenger information materials, requiring accuracy, durability and consistency across the network

The framework will primarily cover print production and fulfilment. While design services are not in scope, suppliers will be expected to work closely with the TfGM Design Studio to ensure that final outputs meet specifications and brand standards.

TfGM requires suppliers who can demonstrate:

  • High-quality print production across a range of formats and materials
  • Flexibility and responsiveness to varying volumes and turnaround times
  • Competitive pricing and value for money
  • Sustainable print practices and materials where possible
  • The ability to support efficient ordering processes, with on-demand or digital ordering solutions considered advantageous

This framework aims to create a flexible and reliable supplier base capable of supporting both day-to-day operational needs and larger programmes of work as the Bee Network continues to evolve.

CPV: Miscellaneous printed matter · Printed books, brochures and leaflets

How this framework works

From the published notice
Framework period
3 yrs · up to 4 yrs from 1 May 2027

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 3 yrsSME
Contract period: 1 May 2027 – 30 Apr 2030 (3 yrs) · up to 30 Apr 2031 with extensions
Delivery: North WestEligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: Extension options published

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

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 more
What this means for your bid
  • “Print Services Framework” 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 Transport for Greater Manchester buys Printed books, brochures and leaflets (CPV 2210), and who usually turns up

Transport for Greater Manchester’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Printed books, brochures and leaflets (CPV 2210) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerTransport for Greater Manchester · all categories
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 2 of 2 known-size awards · market: division 22 · UK-wide, n=43
2 of 263%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
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 the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 5 of 7 known-location awards · market: division 22 · UK-wide, n=37
71%35%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in North West England.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 3 decided notices · market: division 22 · UK-wide, n=10
223 days63 days

Half of these awards were announced within 223 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: exactly 0 of 2 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: division 22 · UK-wide, n=24
0 of 242%

Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer20 lots with bid counts · all categories
0% had one bid
The market86 lots with bid counts · division 22 · UK-wide
9% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid0% / 9%
Buyer: 0 of 20 lots with published bid counts. Market: 8 of 86 lots with published bid counts.
2–310% / 43%
Buyer: 2 of 20 lots with published bid counts. Market: 37 of 86 lots with published bid counts.
4–615% / 33%
Buyer: 3 of 20 lots with published bid counts. Market: 28 of 86 lots with published bid counts.
7+75% / 15%
Buyer: 15 of 20 lots with published bid counts. Market: 13 of 86 lots with published bid counts.

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.

Last 36 months.

Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.

2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #136 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£1.5m
Expected competition
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 86 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet9% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 86 similar lots
1 bid9%
8 of 86 similar past lots received 1 bid (9%).
2–343%
37 of 86 similar past lots received 2–3 (43%).
4–633%
28 of 86 similar past lots received 4–6 (33%).
7+15%
13 of 86 similar past lots received 7+ (15%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 3 bids.
Commercial price forecast
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.

—Priced at call-off
On a framework or DPS the price is agreed on each call-off, so there is no award price to forecast here: the published figure is a ceiling.

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.

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.

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
14 Jul 2026, 09:39 BST
Last source update
14 Jul 2026, 09:39 BST
Authority reference
DN820753
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-065942
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Miscellaneous printed matterPrinted books, brochures and leaflets
Delivery area
North West (UKD3)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ca60 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Appointment period ends
—

Timeline

14 Jul 2026 → 1 May 2027 · 4 dates
  1. Planning notice published100 days ago
    14 Jul 2026, 09:39 BST
  2. Market engagement21 days ago
    30 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST

    Suppliers are invited to register their Expression of Interest via the ProContract procurement portal using the following link: procontract.due-north.com/Register ↗

    Upon registration please register your interest on project reference DN820753 for an automatic invite to tender.

    Please be advised this is not a call to competition and tender documents will be published in due course.

  3. Tender notice expected20 days ago
    1 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
  4. Today
    22 Oct 2026
  5. Contract startsin 191 days
    1 May 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    14 Jul 2026, 09:39 BST
    UK2

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

Transport for Greater Manchester

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PNJQ-2746-NWYT 2 Piccadilly Place, Manchester, North West, M1 3BGContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure