Find a TenderAwardedContract award notice
Published 10 Sept 2025, 15:10 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Sewer Mapping · UK public procurement notice

Official notice

Authority: THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED

Framework agreement3 lotsServicesCompetitive flexible procedureAbove thresholdUtilitiesSME suitable
Framework ceiling (notional)£5,996,000total for 3 lots · framework ceiling, not attributable revenue
Submissions closed 3 Oct 2025awarded 6 Mar 2026
Award (standstill) to 1Spatial Group Ltd, APEM2 awards
Framework period 4 yrsends 28 Feb 2030 · up to 27 Feb 2032 with extensions · starts 2 Mar 2026

What is being bought3 lots · detail below

Published requirement description

Thames Water is seeking to develop the mapped sewer network throughout Greater London and the Thames Valley area, in order to reduce blockages, internal and external floods and pollution.

Unmapped sewers lead to a delay in Thames Water locating and attending blockages, floods and pollution, affecting local communities and the environment.

The objective of FA2241 is to map any unmapped sewer networks at scale, speed and accuracy, directly supporting the Pollution Incident Reduction Plan (PIRP) that Thames Water is working towards during AMP8.

Lot 1 - Aerial Mapping: Capture of 2,484 km² across 71 Sewer Drainage Area Catchments (SDACs) using manned aircraft, delivering georeferenced 2D, oblique 2D, and 3D imagery.

Lot 2 - Asset Detection: Detection of manholes, gullies, rainwater downpipes, soil stacks, misconnections, and outfalls with confidence grading.

Lot 3 - Sewer Inferencing: Semi-/automated inferencing of unmapped sewers, laterals, drains, rising mains, and selected SPSs, achieving ?80% accuracy.

  • How the procedure runs: • Procedure: Competitive Flexible Procedure (above-threshold) • Award model: One supplier will be appointed for each Lot. Bidders may apply for multiple Lots, but Thames Water reserves the right to limit awards so that each bidder receives only one Lot, to ensure resilience and spread of risk. • Call-offs: Once the framework is established, direct awards only will be made to the sole Lot holder. Stages: PSQ Evaluation and Shortlisting ITN Stage 1 - desktop evaluation, shortlisting, negotiations ITN Stage 2 - supplier presentations, potential negotiations Evaluation weighting: • Technical (Quality): 60% • Commercial (Price): 40% Timeline: • Sept 2025 - Contract Notice & PSQ release • Oct 2025 - ITN issue • Nov 2025 - ITN return • Jan 2026 - Supplier presentations & evaluation • Feb 2026 - Award & contract signature

CPV: Sewer survey services

How this framework works

From the published notice
Type
Closed framework
Call-offs
every call-off is a further competition among the appointed suppliers
Places
up to 3 suppliers · 2 appointed
Framework period
4 yrs · up to 6 yrs from 2 Mar 2026
Published description of the framework

Thames Water is seeking to develop the mapped sewer network throughout Greater London and the Thames Valley area, in order to reduce blockages, internal and external floods and pollution.

Unmapped sewers lead to a delay in Thames Water locating and attending blockages, floods and pollution, affecting local communities and the environment.

The objective of FA2241 is to map any unmapped sewer networks at scale, speed and accuracy, directly supporting the Pollution Incident Reduction Plan (PIRP) that Thames Water is working towards during AMP8.

Lot 1 - Aerial Mapping: Capture of 2,484 km² across 71 Sewer Drainage Area Catchments (SDACs) using manned aircraft, delivering georeferenced 2D, oblique 2D, and 3D imagery.

Lot 2 - Asset Detection: Detection of manholes, gullies, rainwater downpipes, soil stacks, misconnections, and outfalls with confidence grading.

Lot 3 - Sewer Inferencing: Semi-/automated inferencing of unmapped sewers, laterals, drains, rising mains, and selected SPSs, achieving ≥80% accuracy.

Lots and requirements (3)Procurement structure

3 lots · all with a published value · same evaluation weights on every lot
Lot #1Aerial MappingAwardedRenewal 4 yrsSMEPublished value£3,511,323

Capture of 2D, oblique 2D, and 3D georeferenced imagery for 2,484 km² across 71 Sewer Drainage Area Catchments (SDACs), phased delivery by 2028, conducted by manned aircraft.

Contract period: 2 Mar 2026 – 28 Feb 2030 (4 yrs) · up to 27 Feb 2032 with extensionsValue: £3,511,323 exc. VAT · £4,213,588 inc. VAT
Eligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: The full scope of the services to be provided and any options that may be considered throughout the term of the agreement, is set out in the Specification issued within the Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) document. · Thames Water envisages that the contract will be awarded for an initial term of 4 years with options to extend by 2 years, up to a maximum overall term of 6 years. Additional purchases of aerial survey services may be considered during the contract term, subject to ITN specification.
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)1
  • Economic & financial standing

    Conditions of participation

    o Legal & financial: D&B check required; Parent Company Guarantee may be requested.

    o Insurance: £10m PI and £10m PLI required.

    o Technical: Demonstrated experience of aerial mapping, asset detection, and/or inferencing at required scale; ability to meet minimum accuracy thresholds.

Lot #2Asset DetectionAwardedRenewal 4 yrsSMEPublished value£1,357,161

Detection of manholes, rainwater downpipes, surface water outfalls, gullies, soil stacks, and misconnections, with confidence grading.

£5m Product Liability will also be required,

Contract period: 2 Mar 2026 – 28 Feb 2030 (4 yrs) · up to 27 Feb 2032 with extensionsValue: £1,357,161 exc. VAT · £1,628,593 inc. VAT
Eligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: The full scope of the services to be provided and any options that may be considered throughout the term of the agreement, is set out in the Specification issued within the Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) document. · Thames Water envisages that the contract will be awarded for an initial term of 4 years with options to extend by 2 years, up to a maximum overall term of 6 years. Additional purchases of aerial survey services may be considered during the contract term, subject to ITN specification.
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2
  • Economic & financial standing

    Conditions of participation

    o Legal & financial: D&B check required; Parent Company Guarantee may be requested.

    o Insurance: £10m PI and £10m PLI required.

    o Technical: Demonstrated experience of aerial mapping, asset detection, and/or inferencing at required scale; ability to meet minimum accuracy thresholds.

  • Condition of participation

    Conditions of participation

    o Legal & financial: D&B check required; Parent Company Guarantee may be requested.

    o Insurance: £10m PI, £5m Product Liability and £10m PLI required.

    o Technical: Demonstrated experience of aerial mapping, asset detection, and/or inferencing at required scale; ability to meet minimum accuracy thresholds.

    shortlisting
Lot #3Sewer InferencingAwardedRenewal 4 yrsSMEPublished value£1,127,516

Lot 3 - Sewer Inferencing: Semi-/automated inferencing of unmapped sewers, laterals, drains, rising mains, and selected SPSs, achieving ≥80% accuracy.

£5m Product Liability will also be required,

Contract period: 2 Mar 2026 – 28 Feb 2030 (4 yrs) · up to 27 Feb 2032 with extensionsValue: £1,127,516 exc. VAT · £1,353,019 inc. VAT
Eligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: The full scope of the services to be provided and any options that may be considered throughout the term of the agreement, is set out in the Specification issued within the Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) document. · Thames Water envisages that the contract will be awarded for an initial term of 4 years with options to extend by 2 years, up to a maximum overall term of 6 years. Additional purchases of aerial survey services may be considered during the contract term, subject to ITN specification.
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2
  • Economic & financial standing

    Conditions of participation

    o Legal & financial: D&B check required; Parent Company Guarantee may be requested.

    o Insurance: £10m PI and £10m PLI required.

    o Technical: Demonstrated experience of aerial mapping, asset detection, and/or inferencing at required scale; ability to meet minimum accuracy thresholds.

  • Condition of participation

    Conditions of participation

    o Legal & financial: D&B check required; Parent Company Guarantee may be requested.

    o Insurance: £10m PI, £5m Product Liability and £10m PLI required.

    o Technical: Demonstrated experience of aerial mapping, asset detection, and/or inferencing at required scale; ability to meet minimum accuracy thresholds.

    shortlisting

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 · same split on all 3 lots
Quality: 60%Price: 40%
Published sub-criteria (2)
  • Technical: 60%
  • Commercial: 40%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Technical: Methodology, accuracy, delivery programme, innovation, sustainability, risk management.
  • Commercial: Fixed-price, milestone-based pricing, efficiency proposals.
Lot distribution rule: With competition (mini-competitions not envisaged, Lots awarded via ITN).
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.
  • “Sewer Mapping” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 3 suppliers, not a single contract: each call-off is a further competition, so the pricing contest starts after appointment.

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
Awarded
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
10 Sept 2025, 15:10 BST
Last source update
6 Mar 2026, 10:21 GMT
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 16 Feb 2026
Authority reference
FA2241
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-055461
Latest notice
Contract award notice (UK6)
Classification (CPV)
Sewer survey services
Delivery area
London (UKI)South East (UKJ)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0597b6 Find a Tender
How it runs
  • Procedure: Competitive Flexible Procedure (above-threshold)
  • Award model: One supplier will be appointed for each Lot. Bidders may apply for multiple Lots, but Thames Water reserves the right to limit awards so that each bidder receives only one Lot, to ensure resilience and spread of risk.
  • Call-offs: Once the framework is established, direct awards only will be made to the sole Lot holder.

Stages:

PSQ Evaluation and Shortlisting

ITN Stage 1 - desktop evaluation, shortlisting, negotiations

ITN Stage 2 - supplier presentations, potential negotiations

Evaluation weighting:

  • Technical (Quality): 60%
  • Commercial (Price): 40%

Timeline:

  • Sept 2025 - Contract Notice & PSQ release
  • Oct 2025 - ITN issue
  • Nov 2025 - ITN return
  • Jan 2026 - Supplier presentations & evaluation
  • Feb 2026 - Award & contract signature

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: portal not identified
Electronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Requests to participate (first stage)
3 Oct 2025, 10:00 BST
Appointment period ends
3 Oct 2025, 10:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Please fill out the details in this link to gain access to the PSQ;

forms.office.com/e/y3Wn3Lya8i ↗

Timeline

10 Sept 2025 → 18 Mar 2026 · 7 dates
  1. Tender notice published
    10 Sept 2025, 15:10 BST
  2. Admission / appointment period ends388 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown
    3 Oct 2025, 10:00 BST
  3. Award decision expected by252 days ago
    16 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
  4. Contract starts239 days ago
    2 Mar 2026
  5. Assessment summaries sent235 days ago
    6 Mar 2026
  6. Latest notice published234 days ago
    6 Mar 2026, 10:21 GMT
  7. Standstill ends222 days ago
    18 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT

Notice history

4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 10 Sept 2025
  1. Tender notice published
    10 Sept 2025, 15:10 BST
    UK4
  2. Contract award notice published
    6 Mar 2026, 10:21 GMT
    UK6
  3. Status changed to complete
    6 Mar 2026, 10:21 GMT
  4. Contract signature expected
    19 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
    scheduled

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

£5,996,000 is the framework's published maximum, restated by the publisher on 2 award rows. It is one ceiling, not 2 separate sums, and no share per lot is published; those rows read “ceiling above”.

Awarded toValueDateStatus
Lot 3 · Sewer Inferencing1 award
1Spatial Group Ltd19 Mar 2026 – 28 Feb 2030 · up to 27 Feb 2032Extensions: Thames Water envisages that the contract will be awarded for an initial term of 4 years with options to extend by 2 years, up to a maximum overall term of 6 years. Additional purchases of aerial survey services may be considered during the contract term, subject to ITN specification. · Options: The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. The full scope of the services to be provided and any options that may be considered throughout the term of the agreement, is set out in the Specification issued within the Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) document.ceiling above6 Mar 2026standstill to 18 Mar 2026Standstill
Across several lots1 award
APEM19 Mar 2026 – 28 Feb 2030 · up to 27 Feb 2032Extensions: Thames Water envisages that the contract will be awarded for an initial term of 4 years with options to extend by 2 years, up to a maximum overall term of 6 years. Additional purchases of aerial survey services may be considered during the contract term, subject to ITN specification · Options: The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. The full scope of the services to be provided and any options that may be consideredthroughout the term of the agreement, is set out in the Specification issued within the Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) document.ceiling above6 Mar 2026standstill to 18 Mar 2026Standstill

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED

Contracting authorityPrivate utility GB-COH: 02366661 · GB-PPON: PNQQ-4647-DTCV Clearwater Court, Reading, South East, RG1 8DBContact email

Framework contractors & participating bidders

2 commercial parties on the notice
  • 1SPATIAL GROUP LIMITEDFramework contractorGB-COH: 04785688GB-PPON: PHML-6716-ZLGX Unit F7, Stirling House, Cambridge Innovation Park, Cambridge, East of England, CB25 9PBContact email
  • APEM LIMITEDFramework contractorGB-COH: 02530851GB-PPON: PHWL-6298-CTCP Riverview, Vale Road Heaton Mersey, North West, SK4 3GNContact email

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender