Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 20 May 2026, 09:44 BST

Official UK procurement notice

PRO004917-Works-Framework-OT Build Only · UK public procurement notice

Authority: United Utilities Water Limited (Public body)

Framework agreementWorksAbove thresholdUtilities
Planned pipeline value£20,000,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice
Framework period 5 yrsends 30 Nov 2031 · up to 30 Nov 2034 with extensions · starts 1 Dec 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

This procurement relates to the establishment of a multi-supplier framework for the provision of Operational Technology (OT) Build Only Works across water and wastewater infrastructure assets.

Scope of Goods, Services and Works

The contract covers the supply, installation, integration, commissioning and support of Operational Technology systems and associated infrastructure, including but not limited to:

Control and automation systems:

  • SCADA, PLC, HMI and telemetry systems
  • Instrumentation and control equipment and associated installation and commissioning
  • Industrial network and communications solutions, including telemetry and remote monitoring systems
  • Electrical works
  • Minor mechanical and civil works required to support OT installations
  • Testing, commissioning, and acceptance activities, including documentation and reporting
  • Emergency works including reactive repair, replacement and restoration of OT systems

The scope also includes project management, site surveys, risk management, regulatory compliance and asset data management, ensuring all works are delivered in accordance with company technical standards and statutory requirements

CPV: Electrical installation work · Mechanical installations

How this framework works

From the published notice
Framework period
5 yrs · up to 8 yrs from 1 Dec 2026

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 5 yrs
Contract period: 1 Dec 2026 – 30 Nov 2031 (5 yrs) · up to 30 Nov 2034 with extensions
Delivery: North West
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
  • “PRO004917-Works-Framework-OT Build Only” 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 United Utilities Water Limited buys Electrical installation work (CPV 4531), and who usually turns up

United Utilities Water Limited’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: Electrical installation work (CPV 4531) →

1

How the contest usually goes

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

Question for the bid
This buyerUnited Utilities Water Limited · division 45
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: 21 of 28 known-size awards · market: CPV 4531 · UK-wide, n=17
75%59%

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: 8 of 9 known-location awards · market: CPV 4531 · UK-wide, n=22
89%59%

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: 13 decided notices · market: CPV 4531 · UK-wide, n=8
89 days50 days

Half of these awards were announced within 89 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: 2 procurements with awards; rival share unknown · market: CPV 4531 · UK-wide, n=16
—13%

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer9 lots with bid counts · all categories
0% had one bid
The market36 lots with bid counts · CPV 4531 · UK-wide
0% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid0% / 0%
Buyer: 0 of 9 lots with published bid counts. Market: 0 of 36 lots with published bid counts.
2–30% / 25%
Buyer: 0 of 9 lots with published bid counts. Market: 9 of 36 lots with published bid counts.
4–678% / 31%
Buyer: 7 of 9 lots with published bid counts. Market: 11 of 36 lots with published bid counts.
7+22% / 44%
Buyer: 2 of 9 lots with published bid counts. Market: 16 of 36 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 #1CPV 453160 monthsPublished estimate£20m
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 234 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet2% single-bid risk
Past bids on 234 similar lots
1 bid2%
4 of 234 similar past lots received 1 bid (2%).
2–310%
23 of 234 similar past lots received 2–3 (10%).
4–616%
37 of 234 similar past lots received 4–6 (16%).
7+73%
170 of 234 similar past lots received 7+ (73%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 13 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
Works
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Utilities
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
20 May 2026, 09:44 BST
Last source update
20 May 2026, 09:44 BST
Authority reference
PRO004917
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-046089
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Electrical installation workMechanical installations
Delivery area
North West (UKD)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-069ca9 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Appointment period ends
—

Timeline

20 May 2026 → 1 Dec 2026 · 3 dates
  1. Planning notice published153 days ago
    20 May 2026, 09:44 BST
  2. Market engagement137 days ago
    5 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST

    United Utilities is undertaking a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise to inform the development of a future procurement for Operational Technology Build Only and Associated Works.

    Suppliers wishing to express interest in participating in this engagement should do so by contacting [email protected].

    Expressions of interest should include company name, contact details and a summary of relevant experience.

    All clarification questions relating to this PME should be submitted via email to the same address within the timelines specified in the PME documentation. United Utilities reserves the right to shortlist participants should demand exceed capacity and a future tender is not guarenteed.

  3. Today
    20 Oct 2026
  4. Contract startsin 41 days
    1 Dec 2026

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    20 May 2026, 09:44 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

UNITED UTILITIES WATER LIMITED

Contracting authorityPrivate utility GB-COH: 02366678 · GB-PPON: PVVB-5589-BWHX Haweswater House, Lingley Green Avenue, Great Sankey, North West, WA5 3LPContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure