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Published 11 Sept 2026, 16:03 BST

Official UK procurement notice

PROVISION OF SECURITY GUARDING SERVICES AT THE BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION LUSAKA ZAMBIA

Official notice

Authority: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Central government)

ServicesCompetitive flexible procedureAbove thresholdDefence & security
Sectors: Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery listed: Zambia (ZM)
Published estimate£812,298≈ £271k / year · £942,265 inc. VAT · 1 value update
Submissions closed 15 Oct 2026
Contract term 3 yrsends 31 Jan 2030 · up to 31 Jan 2031 with extensions · starts 1 Feb 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) requires the provision of integrated security services for the British High Commission, Lusaka, the High Commissioner’s Residence and diplomatic staff residences located in Lusaka, Zambia.

The requirement includes:

  • Static guarding services;
  • Mobile patrol and response services;
  • Alarm monitoring and response services;
  • Access control and visitor management;
  • Security supervision and management;
  • Incident response and reporting;
  • Operations room and communications support.

The contract is expected to commence on 1 February 2027 for an initial period of 36 months with an option to extend for a further period of up to 12 months.

The Authority intends to appoint a suitably qualified and experienced security services provider with the capability, capacity, infrastructure, personnel, supervisory arrangements and operational resilience required to deliver services across multiple diplomatic locations within Lusaka.

This notice relates to the Participation Stage of a Competitive Flexible Procedure. Suppliers will be assessed against Conditions of Participation and Selection Questionnaire requirements. Suppliers meeting the required capability thresholds will be shortlisted and invited to participate in the Invitation to Tender stage.

  • The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Jul 2031, 23:59 BST.
  • How the procedure runs: This procurement is being conducted using a two-stage Competitive Flexible Procedure under the Procurement Act 2023. Stage 1 – Invitation to Participate (Selection Stage): Suppliers will be assessed against Conditions of Participation, including exclusion grounds, economic and financial standing, legal capacity, technical capability, organisational standards, relevant experience, and project-specific selection questions. Responses will be evaluated in accordance with the published Selection Questionnaire evaluation criteria. Suppliers must achieve the minimum required thresholds and pass all mandatory requirements to progress. Up to eight (8) suppliers will be shortlisted and invited to the next stage. Stage 2 – Invitation to Tender (Tender Stage): Shortlisted suppliers will be invited to submit detailed technical and commercial tenders. The Authority may conduct clarification activities and dialogue with suppliers where necessary to refine solutions and improve understanding of proposals. Any dialogue will be conducted fairly and consistently across all participating suppliers. Award criteria and their weightings will be included within the Invitation to Tender documentation and will not be substantially altered once the Tender Stage commences. Following evaluation, the contract will be awarded to the supplier submitting the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT) where 60% will be allocated to technical evaluation and 40% will be allocated to commercial evaluation.
  • No preliminary market engagement: The Authority did not publish a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice because sufficient market analysis and supplier engagement had already been undertaken to inform the procurement strategy and confirm market capability. The requirement will be openly competed through a Competitive Flexible Procedure to ensure fair and transparent access to all interested suppliers.

CPV: Security services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Renewal 3 yrsPublished value£812,298
Contract period: 1 Feb 2027 – 31 Jan 2030 (3 yrs) · up to 31 Jan 2031 with extensionsValue: £812,298 exc. VAT · £942,265 inc. VAT
Delivery listed: Zambia (ZM)
Extensions: The Authority reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to extend the contract for a further period of up to 12 months The extension may be exercised where: Service performance is satisfactory; The Authority continues to have an operational requirement for the services; Funding remains available; The extension represents value for money for the Authority; and The supplier continues to meet all contractual, legislative and regulatory obligations.
79710000 Security services
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2
  • Economic & financial standing

    Financial Capacity (Pass/Fail):

    Suppliers will be assessed using information from the Central Digital Platform, submitted financial templates, and independent credit checks. A risk-based approach will be applied. Suppliers assessed as acceptable risk will meet the requirement; where higher risk is identified, further assurance (e.g. guarantees) may be required. Failure to demonstrate sufficient financial standing may result in exclusion.

    Only suppliers meeting both conditions will progress.

  • Technical & professional ability

    Technical responses for stage 1 will be evaluated using the published scoring methodology and weightings:

    Capability – 30%, Operational Readiness – 20% Professional Experience – 50%

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
How bids were scored
Quality: 60%Price: 40%
Published sub-criteria (2)
  • Techical avaluation: 60%
  • Commercial Evaluation: 40%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Techical avaluation: Quality will assess the supplier's capability and proposed approach to delivering security guarding and associated security services in a high-risk operating environment, including operational delivery, contract management, mobilisation, workforce management, resilience, risk management, compliance and service quality. Full evaluation criteria, sub-criteria and scoring methodology will be provided in the Stage 2 procurement documents.
  • Commercial Evaluation: Price will be assessed using the Authority's pricing model and evaluation methodology. Pricing model will be provided in the Stage 2 procurement documents.
Conditions of participation2
  • Economic & financial standing

    Financial Capacity (Pass/Fail):

    Suppliers will be assessed using information from the Central Digital Platform, submitted financial templates, and independent credit checks. A risk-based approach will be applied. Suppliers assessed as acceptable risk will meet the requirement; where higher risk is identified, further assurance (e.g. guarantees) may be required. Failure to demonstrate sufficient financial standing may result in exclusion.

    Only suppliers meeting both conditions will progress.

  • Technical & professional ability

    Technical responses for stage 1 will be evaluated using the published scoring methodology and weightings:

    Capability – 30%, Operational Readiness – 20% Professional Experience – 50%

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Competitive flexible procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Closed
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Defence & security
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Yes · next expected 1 Jul 2031
First published
11 Sept 2026, 16:03 BST
Last source update
25 Sept 2026, 10:51 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 6 Nov 2026
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-086588
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Security services
Delivery area in notice
Zambia (ZM)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f876 Find a Tender
How it runs

This procurement is being conducted using a two-stage Competitive Flexible Procedure under the Procurement Act 2023.

Stage 1 – Invitation to Participate (Selection Stage): Suppliers will be assessed against Conditions of Participation, including exclusion grounds, economic and financial standing, legal capacity, technical capability, organisational standards, relevant experience, and project-specific selection questions. Responses will be evaluated in accordance with the published Selection Questionnaire evaluation criteria. Suppliers must achieve the minimum required thresholds and pass all mandatory requirements to progress. Up to eight (8) suppliers will be shortlisted and invited to the next stage.

Stage 2 – Invitation to Tender (Tender Stage): Shortlisted suppliers will be invited to submit detailed technical and commercial tenders.

The Authority may conduct clarification activities and dialogue with suppliers where necessary to refine solutions and improve understanding of proposals. Any dialogue will be conducted fairly and consistently across all participating suppliers. Award criteria and their weightings will be included within the Invitation to Tender documentation and will not be substantially altered once the Tender Stage commences.

Following evaluation, the contract will be awarded to the supplier submitting the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT) where 60% will be allocated to technical evaluation and 40% will be allocated to commercial evaluation.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: Jaggaer · Who buys & how to bid on JAGGAER
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free; latest Chrome/Edge/Firefox only — corporate browsers fail
Requests to participate (first stage)
15 Oct 2026, 16:00 BST
Submission deadline
15 Oct 2026, 16:00 BST
Clarification deadline
25 Sept 2026, 14:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Suppliers should access the FCDO eSourcing portal (Jaggaer) to view and participate in the opportunity referenced in this notice. Suppliers who are not yet registered should complete the online registration process at fcdo.bravosolution.co.uk ↗.

All communications and clarification questions must be submitted through the messaging facility within the portal. Responses may be shared with all interested suppliers to ensure a fair and transparent process.

The information provided in this notice is indicative only and may be subject to change. The Authority reserves the right not to proceed with any procurement or contractual arrangement.

Timeline

11 Sept 2026 → 1 Feb 2027 · 6 dates
  1. Tender notice published48 days ago
    11 Sept 2026, 16:03 BST
  2. Latest notice published34 days ago
    25 Sept 2026, 10:51 BST
  3. Clarification questions by34 days ago
    25 Sept 2026, 14:00 BST
  4. Submission deadline14 days ago
    15 Oct 2026, 16:00 BST
  5. Today
    29 Oct 2026
  6. Award decision expected byin 8 days
    6 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
  7. Contract startsin 94 days
    1 Feb 2027

Notice history

6 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 11 Sept 2026
  1. Tender notice published
    11 Sept 2026, 16:03 BST
    UK4
  2. Tender notice published
    11 Sept 2026, 16:08 BST
    UK4
  3. Tender notice published
    11 Sept 2026, 16:10 BST
    UK4
  4. Tender notice published
    23 Sept 2026, 16:43 BST
    UK4
  5. Published value updated to £812,298
    23 Sept 2026, 16:43 BST
    was £0
  6. Tender notice published
    25 Sept 2026, 10:51 BST
    UK4
Routine re-releases (5)
  • 2026-09: 2 releases · 11 Sept 2026, 11 Sept 2026

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PXRR-8771-PHVX King Charles Street, London, ZA, SW1A 2AH, ZAContact name, email, phone

Official documents & specifications (5)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender