Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 22 Sept 2026, 14:48 BST

Official UK procurement notice

RFQ2026/37 - Appointment of Specialist Consultancy Team to present options regarding appropriate operating models for a new Theatre and Conference facility in Newry City.

Authority: Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMD) (Local council)

ServicesBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Published estimate£29,000£34,800 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 7 Oct 202612:00 BST · 14d 10h left
Clarification cut-off 2 Oct 202612:00 BST · questions to the authority
Contract term 3 mostarts 28 Oct 2026
Bids per lot · this authority 2all categories · n=24 · competition analysis ↓

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The purpose of this process is to undertake an assessment of potential operating models for a new Theatre and Conference Centre facility in Newry City and assist the Council with recommendations on the most appropriate operating model for the facility in terms of promoting artistic creativity, growing a new audience for the facility and ensuring long term viability of the preferred operating model.

CPV: Business development consultancy services · Development consultancy services · General management consultancy services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Lot 1 3 moSMEVCSEPublished value£29,000
Contract period: 28 Oct 2026 — 28 Jan 2027 (3 mo)Eligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligibleDelivery: UKTurnover guideline: ~£58,000/yr≈ 2× annual value
Value
£29,000 exc. VAT · £34,800 inc. VAT
73220000 Development consultancy services79411000 General management consultancy services79411100 Business development consultancy services

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
How bids are scored
Quality: 80%Price: 20%
Published sub-criteria (2)
  • As per RFQ Documentation80%
  • As per RFQ Documentation20%

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

How Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMD) buys Business and management consultancy services (CPV 7941) — and who usually turns up

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMD)’s own published record, next to the Northern Ireland market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Business and management consultancy services (CPV 7941)

1

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.

This authority

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMD)

contract notices in 36 months: 3 in CPV 7941 · 20 in division 79 · 189 in all categories (1 route not published)

Bids per lot
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 all categories, last 36 months: 24 lots. 15 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 2) and 9 from older notices (bids received, middle 3).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

2all categories · 36m · n=24 lots
Single-bid lots
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 all categories, last 36 months: 24 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

42%all categories · 36m · n=24 lots
Award vs estimate
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 this industry (CPV 79), last 36 months: 4 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

at estimatedivision 79 · 36m · n=4 pairs
Deadline → award date
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 all categories, last 36 months: 3 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

26dall categories · 36m · n=3 notices
Notice updates
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: 195 notices.

Last 24 months.

0all categories · 24m · n=195 notices
Awarded without competition
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 sector (CPV 7941), last 36 months: 3 notices.

Last 36 months.

0%CPV 7941 · 36m · n=3 notices
Bids per lot robust · n=24
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 24 lots on 11 contested notices · all categories, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 42%
  • 2–3 42%
  • 4–6 17%
  • 7+ 0%

Median 2 · 24 lots on 11 contested notices · all categories.

Winning award vs estimate moderate · n=4
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 4 lot pairs · division 79, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 0%
  • Within ±2% 75%
  • Above estimate 25%

4 lot pairs · division 79.

The market · authority’s region

Northern Ireland · Business and management consultancy services (CPV 7941)

contract notices delivered in Northern Ireland in 36 months: 51 in CPV 7941 (47 competed, 3 route not published) · 338 in division 79 (293 competed, 32 route not published) · the notice publishes no delivery location, so the authority’s registered region is used

Bids per lot
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 7941), last 36 months: 38 lots. 20 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 3) and 18 from older notices (bids received, middle 3).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

3CPV 7941 · 36m · n=38 lots
Single-bid lots
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 7941), last 36 months: 38 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

26%CPV 7941 · 36m · n=38 lots
Award vs estimate
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 7941), last 36 months: 30 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

at estimateCPV 7941 · 36m · n=30 pairs
Deadline → award date
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 7941), last 36 months: 15 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

43dCPV 7941 · 36m · n=15 notices
SME bidders
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 7941), last 36 months: 38 lots.

Last 36 months.

63%CPV 7941 · 36m · n=38 lots
Winners based in the region
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 7941), last 36 months: 21 awards.

Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.

Last 36 months.

67%CPV 7941 · 36m · n=21 awards
Bids per lot robust · n=38
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 38 lots on 33 contested notices · CPV 7941, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 26%
  • 2–3 29%
  • 4–6 29%
  • 7+ 16%

Median 3 · 38 lots on 33 contested notices · CPV 7941.

Winning award vs estimate robust · n=30
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 30 lot pairs · CPV 7941, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 40%
  • Within ±2% 57%
  • Above estimate 3%

30 lot pairs · CPV 7941.

moderate · n=4
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 4 lots, so only the direction is shown, not a pound figure.

A benchmark, not a price to bid.

Awards in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMD) (division 79, n=4 pairs) land a median at estimate. Too few pairs to turn into a pound figure with any confidence — read the percentage as a rough direction, not this notice’s estimate converted.
2

Who you are likely to meet
i

Who you may be up against.

Suppliers on this buyer’s earlier similar contracts, and suppliers whose record fits this tender.

A guess from the record. Buyers do not publish who is bidding.

Suppliers on this authority’s earlier similar contracts, then suppliers with a matching track record — from published award history, not a bid list

Suppliers with a similar track record — and how they price
i

Suppliers with a similar track record, and how they price.

Suppliers matched on wins in this category, history with this buyer, location and size. Their award vs estimate is from their own past wins.

A guess from the record, not a bidder list.

SupplierEvidenceLast awardTheir award vs estimateRelevance
ACER MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED SME7 class wins3 months agono comparable pairs62%
THE BERKELEY PARTNERSHIP LLP SME21 class wins7 months agono comparable pairs61%
NETTITUDE LTD SME20 class wins2 months agono comparable pairs59%
RTI SOLUTIONS LLP SME6 class wins1 months agoat estimate n=159%
NEWBRIDGE ADVISORS LLP SME7 class winsthis monthno comparable pairs58%

Matched by the nightly worker on class wins, buyer history, delivery geography, scale and notice text; relevance is a 0–100% heuristic score, not a probability of bidding. “Their award vs estimate” is that supplier’s median on its own comparable single-supplier wins, CPV 7941 first. Nobody here is known to be bidding.

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
Below threshold - open competition
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Open for tender
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
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
22 Sept 2026, 14:48 BST
Last source update
22 Sept 2026, 14:48 BST
Authority reference
CA18488
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Business development consultancy servicesDevelopment consultancy servicesGeneral management consultancy services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0777b3 Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Submit via MultiQuote
Submission portal named on this notice: MultiQuote · Who buys & how to bid on MultiQuote
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowed
Access & registration note: Free
Expression of interest (EOI)
Tender submission deadline
7 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
Clarification deadline
2 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
To access this opportunity, log in to suppliers.multiquote.com and view the opportunity. If you are not registered with MultiQuote, please visit suppliers.multiquote.com, complete the registration form on the log in page and quote the title and reference of the notice in your registration.
Published estimate £29,000 excludes VAT (£34,800 including VAT).

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Tender notice publishedearlier today
    22 Sept 2026, 14:48 BST
  2. Clarification questions byin 9 days
    2 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
  3. Submission deadlinein 14 days
    7 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
  4. Contract startsin 35 days
    28 Oct 2026, 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
  1. Tender notice published
    22 Sept 2026, 14:48 BSTUK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMD)

Contracting authorityPublic undertaking GB-PPON: PJMQ-5831-RNZM Unit 19 Rampart Road, Greenbank Industrial Estate, Newry, Northern Ireland, BT34 2QU 03301374253

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender