Official UK procurement notice
Replacement of Steam Boilers
Authority: MHRA (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionMHRA invites tenders for the detailed design, supply, installation, testing, commissioning and handover of replacement steam-boiler systems at MHRA Laboratories, Blanche Lane, South Mimms, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 3QG. The contract will be awarded to the supplier submitting the most advantageous tender in accordance with the published award criteria and assessment methodology in this ITT.
The works form South Mimms Electric Steam Boiler Project and are intended to replace three existing individual 3,900 kg/h gas-fired steam boilers with two individual 3,000 kg/h electric steam boilers, together with the associated mechanical, electrical, controls, building, civil and enabling works. The site is a live operational medical-research facility. Maintaining safe operations, continuity of steam, electrical resilience and controlled access is fundamental to the delivery approach.
The objectives are;
• deliver a safe, coordinated and maintainable replacement steam-boiler installation without unacceptable disruption to the live site;
• secure a technically credible design and executable programme covering design, enabling works, installation, testing, commissioning and handover;
• obtain a transparent and comparable activity-schedule price under NEC3 ECC Main Option A;
• allocate interface, access, electrical-capacity, continuity and commissioning risks clearly;
• secure measurable social-value commitments relevant to the contract and local delivery; and
• appoint a contractor capable of collaborative NEC delivery, disciplined change control and complete handover.
CPV: Boiler installation work · Boiler installations · Electrical engineering installation works · Mechanical engineering installation works
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Published value£5,833,333
- Value
- £5,833,333 exc. VAT · £7,000,000 inc. VAT
- Economic & financial standingSuppliers must first register, and if already registered, login to the MHRA Atamis Health Family Portal. https://atamis-1928.my.salesforce.com/ Suppliers must read the Supplier Instruction and sign the NDA - attached in Atamis - Project Ref C458575 - Replacement of Steam Boilers. When access to the documentation is provided then: Confirm annual turnover for the latest available year exceeds £14m. Property damage and third-party liability £10,000,000 for any one event. Death or bodily injury to Contractor’s employees £10,000,000 for any one event. The minimum limit of indemnity for Professional Indemnity Insurance is £10,000,000 for each and every claim. The insurance shall be maintained for a period of 12 years from Completion of the whole of the works. Insurance of the works, Plant and Materials Full reinstatement value in accordance with the NEC3 Insurance Table, subject to confirmation of who provides each insurance and applicable deductibles.
- Technical & professional abilityMust hold the following standards or equivalents: ISO 9001 ISO 14001 ISO 45001
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 (11)
- Relevant live-site experience — 5%
- Design and technical solution — 15%
- Safety permits and logistics — 10%
- Programme and resources — 10%
- Continuity and resilience — 8%
- Testing and commissioning — 5%
- Handover training and asset information — 3%
- Warranty and response support — 2%
- Added value — 2%
- Price — 30%
- Social value — 10%
Published award criteria (11)
- Relevant live-site experience — How directly relevant experience and lessons will be applied by the proposed team to this contract.
- Design and technical solution — Completeness, integration and compliance of the proposed multidisciplinary design and delivery solution.
- Safety permits and logistics — Control of construction, operational, access, lifting, permit and live-site risks.
- Programme and resources — Credibility of the integrated programme, critical path, resources and delivery controls.
- Continuity and resilience — Protection of steam continuity and operational resilience through transition and commissioning.
- Testing and commissioning — Completeness of inspection, testing, commissioning, proving and acceptance arrangements.
- Handover training and asset information — Quality and completeness of handover, training and operational information.
- Warranty and response support — Responsiveness and effectiveness of warranty and post-completion support.
- Added value — Relevant, deliverable improvement beyond the minimum requirement without transferring unpriced risk to MHRA.
- Social value — Relevant and measurable social, economic and environmental value arising from contract delivery.
- Price — Total price of activities listed in the Activity Schedule.
- Economic & financial standingSuppliers must first register, and if already registered, login to the MHRA Atamis Health Family Portal. https://atamis-1928.my.salesforce.com/ Suppliers must read the Supplier Instruction and sign the NDA - attached in Atamis - Project Ref C458575 - Replacement of Steam Boilers. When access to the documentation is provided then: Confirm annual turnover for the latest available year exceeds £14m. Property damage and third-party liability £10,000,000 for any one event. Death or bodily injury to Contractor’s employees £10,000,000 for any one event. The minimum limit of indemnity for Professional Indemnity Insurance is £10,000,000 for each and every claim. The insurance shall be maintained for a period of 12 years from Completion of the whole of the works. Insurance of the works, Plant and Materials Full reinstatement value in accordance with the NEC3 Insurance Table, subject to confirmation of who provides each insurance and applicable deductibles.
- Technical & professional abilityMust hold the following standards or equivalents: ISO 9001 ISO 14001 ISO 45001
- Price carries 30 of 100 points — a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £9,339,303 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring — the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How MHRA buys Boiler installations (CPV 4216) — and who usually turns up
MHRA’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: Boiler installations (CPV 4216) →
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 Greater London (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside Greater London.
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 41 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.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
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 bid40% / 0%
2–325% / 25%
4–625% / 25%
7+10% / 50%
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 estimate45% / 56%
Within ±2%18% / 11%
Above estimate36% / 33%
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 4216Published estimate£5.8m
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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid34%
2–326%
4–632%
7+8%
i
Where the winning price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
Based on 18 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A guide, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£5.2m–£5.8m
Estimate£5.8m
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | ||||
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £648m14 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | 4 live · £224m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | no comparable pairs | |
| £23m45 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 2 live · £2.1m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=7 | |
| £1.9m8 awards in 36m · last 8 months ago | 5 live · £4.8m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 17% below n=3 | |
Acumen Solutions LtdLarge | £23k3 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 1 live · £45k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | no comparable pairs |
| £105k3 awards in 36m · last 9 months ago | 1 live · £48k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 19% above n=1 |
Coverage and what to read with care
- Each figure 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 sides are never blended. A lot’s own market is read at its delivery region where the lot names one; where it names several, or none that can be resolved, the chart falls back to the UK-wide record for the same category and says so under the bar. An empty cell means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
- When we call out a difference. A buyer figure is only flagged against the market when the sample is large enough that the gap is unlikely to be chance; at most two callouts appear, always phrased as a comparison with both numbers and the sample size.
- Coverage (re-measured 5 Oct on the live record, 94,497 awarded procedures of the last three years). 51 % publish a bid count and 72 % a delivery region, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice names none, labelled. Of the 17,687 award-vs-estimate pairs, 34 % sit exactly on the estimate — the buyer published the award at the figure it advertised. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden, and a distribution is not drawn as percentages below ten observations.
- “Match”, text similarity, the expected-bid figure and the distribution drawn beneath it are model outputs, not published facts or win probabilities. 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
- Works
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 12 Oct 2026, 14:40 BST
- Last source update
- 12 Oct 2026, 14:40 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end — 11 Jan 2027
- Authority reference
C458575- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-096140- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0785beFind a Tender- Contract terms summary
- 30 Days
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Atamis (Health Family)- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 20 Nov 2026, 16:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 16 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
5 published dates · Europe/London- Tender notice published1 day ago12 Oct 2026, 14:40 BST
- Clarification questions byin 3 days16 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadlinein 38 days20 Nov 2026, 16:00 GMT
- Contract startsin 90 days11 Jan 2027
- Award decision expected byin 91 days11 Jan 2027, 23:59 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
2 events · 1 release on Find a Tender · since 12 Oct 2026- Tender notice published12 Oct 2026, 14:40 BSTUK4
- First tender notice published12 Oct 2026, 14:40 BST
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Supplier are required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement before access to the tender documents can be provided.
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender