Official UK procurement notice
Provision of Heathrow Expansion Banking Advisor
Authority: Department for Transport (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Department for Transport (DfT) is seeking to appoint an experienced Banking Adviser to provide independent financial and commercial advice in support of the Heathrow expansion programme.
The Government's ambition is to enable the delivery of an operational third runway at Heathrow Airport by 2035 through a privately financed, market-led delivery model. As one of the UK's largest and most complex infrastructure programmes, Heathrow expansion presents significant financing, affordability, delivery and regulatory challenges.
The successful Adviser will act as a sponsor-side adviser to DfT, providing independent advice on matters including:
• The financeability and financial deliverability of Heathrow expansion;
• Debt and equity market appetite and financing conditions;
• Affordability, risk allocation and investor confidence;
• Measures to improve financeability and reduce delivery risk;
• Government exposure to programme costs and risks;
• Delivery structures, governance arrangements and commercial models; and
• Emerging financing, commercial and regulatory issues.
The successful Adviser will also be required to deliver a strategic financeability assessment every six months throughout the contract term.
Read the full description (1,305 more characters)
The anticipated contract term is three (3) years with an option to extend for a further one (1) year. The estimated total contract value is approximately £3 million (excluding VAT).
Suppliers wishing to participate in this procurement must register on the Jaggaer portal and access the procurement documentation through that system. Tender submissions, clarification questions and all procurement communications must be conducted via Jaggaer.
1. To enrol an account on DfTs Jaggaer platform (if your organisation does not already have one), please navigate to: https://dft.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html
2. ITT Code =itt_3358 Once registered, please access the event using the below link:
https://dft.app.jaggaer.com/go/8716167101A0D8503795
In addition, suppliers must ensure they have completed the relevant supplier registration requirements on the Central Digital Platform (CDP) in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.
Full details of the requirement, scope of services, procurement process, evaluation methodology, timetable and submission requirements are contained within the Invitation to Tender (ITT) documentation available through the Jaggaer portal. Interested suppliers are strongly encouraged to review the complete ITT pack and all associated appendices before preparing a Tender submission.
No preliminary market engagement: The Authority has elected not to publish a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice prior to commencing this procurement. The Authority is satisfied that it has sufficient understanding of the requirement, the likely supplier market, available delivery models and procurement strategy to proceed directly to competition. The more…
requirement relates to specialist banking and financial advisory services, and the Authority has drawn upon internal expertise, existing market knowledge and previous experience of procuring similar professional services. Accordingly, the Authority does not consider that formal preliminary market engagement is necessary or proportionate for this procurement.
CPV: Feasibility study, advisory service, analysis · Financial consultancy services · Financial consultancy, financial transaction processing and clearing-house services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Lot 1RenewalPublished value£3,000,000
- Value
- £3,000,000 exc. VAT · £3,600,000 inc. VAT
- Extensions
- The Contract includes a provision for the commissioning of additional services through Statements of Work (SoWs), enabling the Authority to procure supplementary requirements as programme priorities, emerging issues and key decision points arise. · This contract contains a +1-year extension provision.
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 (3)
- Stage 2 — 10%
- Commercail Evaluation — 20%
- Stage 1 - Technical and Social Value — 70%
Published award criteria (3)
- Stage 1 - Technical and Social Value — Tenderers will be evaluated on their relevant experience, technical capability, understanding of the financial and commercial challenges associated with Heathrow expansion, proposed delivery approach, team structure and governance arrangements, approach to pricing future Statements of Work, and ability to deliver wider economic and social value. Responses will be assessed against the criteria and weightings set out in the Invitation to Tender. Following completion of the Stage 1 evaluation, Tenderers will be ranked in order of their Total Quality Score. Up to the three highest-scoring Tenderers will be invited to participate in Stage 2 (Presentation and Interview). Stage 1 evaluates: (i) relevant infrastructure finance and financial advisory experience; (ii) understanding of financeability, affordability and investor considerations associated with Heathrow expansion; (iii) proposed delivery model, governance and key personnel; (iv) approach to pricing and managing future Statements of Work; and (v) delivery of wider economic and social value. Stage 1 carries a weighting of 70% of the overall evaluation score. The highest-ranked Tenderers will progress to a presentation and interview stage.
- Stage 2 — Stage 2 – Presentation and Interview (10%) Up to the three highest-scoring Tenderers from Stage 1 will be invited to participate in a presentation and interview assessment. Tenderers will be required to respond to a scenario-based exercise designed to assess their ability to mobilise quickly, identify and prioritise key financing and commercial issues, apply sound financial and commercial judgement, and provide clear, evidence-based advice to senior Government stakeholders. The evaluation will consider: • The proposed team's ability to mobilise and respond at short notice. • The identification and prioritisation of key financeability, affordability and delivery risks. • The proposed approach to analysis, stakeholder engagement and evidence gathering. • The quality, clarity and practicality of advice provided to senior decision-makers. • The effectiveness of the proposed team in responding to challenge and demonstrating relevant expertise. Stage 2 carries a weighting of 10% of the overall evaluation score and will be combined with the Stage 1 Quality Score and Commercial Score to determine the final Tender ranking.
- Commercail Evaluation — Commercial Evaluation (20%) The Commercial Evaluation carries a weighting of 20% of the overall evaluation score. Tenderers are required to submit a completed Attachment 1 – Pricing Schedule. The Commercial Evaluation will assess the Total Evaluated Price, comprising: • The total cost of six six-monthly strategic financeability assessments; and • The total monthly retainer fee over the 36-month contract term. Pricing will be evaluated using a relative percentage scoring methodology, whereby the lowest priced compliant Tender will receive the maximum available score and other Tenderers will receive a proportionate score relative to the lowest priced submission. Additional Statements of Work are not included within the evaluated price and will be commissioned separately during the Contract term, where required, in accordance with the Contract provisions.
- Economic & financial standing
Participation is subject to the conditions set out in the procurement documents, including economic and financial standing requirements, minimum insurance requirements, conflicts of interest requirements and compliance with the Procurement Act 2023 exclusion more…
grounds regime. Full details are contained within Appendix 4 – Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ). - Technical & professional abilityTenderers must demonstrate relevant experience and capability in infrastructure finance, capital markets, debt and equity advisory services, financeability assessments, regulated infrastructure financing models and the delivery of advisory services to Government or comparable clients. Full details are set out in the procurement documents.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Department for Transport buys Financial consultancy, financial transaction processing and clearing-house services (CPV 6617) — and who usually turns up
Department for Transport’s own published record, next to the Greater London market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Financial consultancy, financial transaction processing and clearing-house services (CPV 6617) →
How the contest usually goes
Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested contracts only — direct awards (including PA 2023 transparency notices) report one bid by definition and are left out. On Procurement Act 2023 notices the count is the tenders assessed at the final stage, not every submission received; pairs compare like with like (VAT-exclusive, or VAT-inclusive on both sides). Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.
Department for Transport
contract notices in 36 months: 3 in CPV 6617 (1 route not published) · 9 in division 66 (2 without competition · 1 route not published) · 127 in all categories (29 without competition · 30 route not published)
i
How many companies usually bid for work like this.
Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 66), last 36 months: 4 lots. All 4 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices, which count bids assessed.
Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.
i
How often only one company bid.
Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 66), last 36 months: 4 lots.
High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.
i
Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.
Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 23 pairs.
A past pattern, not a price to bid.
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.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 66), last 36 months: 4 notices.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
i
How often this buyer changes a notice after publishing it.
Middle number of amendments per notice. Deadline extensions and corrections both count.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 24 months: 216 notices.
i
How often this buyer awards without a competition.
Direct or limited awards as a share of its notices that say which procedure was used. These routes are legal in defined cases. This is just the record.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 66), last 36 months: 8 notices.
Greater London · Financial consultancy, financial transaction processing and clearing-house services (CPV 6617)
contract notices delivered in Greater London in 36 months: 39 in CPV 6617 (24 competed, 7 route not published) · 195 in division 66 (118 competed, 40 route not published) · the notice publishes no delivery location, so the authority’s registered region is used
i
How many companies usually bid for work like this.
Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.
Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 6617), last 36 months: 9 lots. 6 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 2.5) and 3 from older notices (bids received, middle 3).
Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.
i
How often only one company bid.
Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.
Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 6617), last 36 months: 9 lots.
High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.
i
Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.
Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.
Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 6617), last 36 months: 5 pairs.
A past pattern, not a price to bid.
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.
Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 6617), last 36 months: 8 notices.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
i
How much of this market goes to small and medium firms.
SME bidders where buyers published the split, otherwise SME winners.
Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 6617), last 36 months: 8 lots.
i
How much work like this goes to companies based in the delivery region.
Awards in this category delivered here where the winner’s registered address is in the region.
Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 6617), last 36 months: 14 awards.
Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.
i
Where this tender’s estimate would land if the usual pattern repeats.
We apply the buyer’s usual movement between estimate and award (or the region’s) to the estimate on this notice.
Based on this buyer’s own usual movement over 23 lots (all categories), applied to the £3,000,000 estimate on this notice.
A benchmark, not a price to bid.
Coverage and what to read with care
- Each tile explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two columns are never blended and nothing is filled from a UK-wide figure; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
- Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). About 30 % of award-vs-estimate pairs are exact matches — the buyer published the award at the estimate. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden.
- “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- 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
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 25 Sept 2026, 13:07 BST
- Last source update
- 25 Sept 2026, 13:07 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end — 2 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Authority reference
THEP3038- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077a87Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
- Payment will be made in accordance with the Contract following satisfactory delivery and acceptance of the relevant services by the Authority. The Contract includes fixed fees for six-monthly strategic financeability assessments and a monthly retainer fee. Additional services may be commissioned through separately approved Statements of Work. Valid and undisputed invoices will be paid in accordance with the Authority's standard payment terms set out in the Contract.
- Risks
The successful delivery of the Contract is dependent upon the provision of high-quality, timely and independent financial and commercial advice in relation to Heathrow expansion. Key risks include the availability and retention of suitably qualified advisers, conflicts of interest arising from work undertaken more…
elsewhere in the aviation or infrastructure sectors, failure to meet critical programme timescales, and an inability to respond to emerging financing, regulatory or market developments. Suppliers will be required to demonstrate appropriate risk management, governance and business continuity arrangements to ensure consistent service delivery throughout the Contract term.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Jaggaer- Expression of interest (EOI)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 23 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 13 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
5 published dates · Europe/London- Tender notice publishedearlier today25 Sept 2026, 13:07 BST
- Clarification questions byin 18 days13 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadlinein 28 days23 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Award decision expected byin 68 days2 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 100 days4 Jan 2027, 00:00 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published25 Sept 2026, 13:07 BSTUK4
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Conflict of interest declarationNot published
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender