Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 10 Nov 2026, 15:05 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Student Residence Carpet Cleaning Services

Authority: University of Exeter (Education)

ServicesBelow thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Planned pipeline value£150,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 1 Feb 2027from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 3 yrsends 31 Jul 2030 · up to 31 Jul 2032 with extensions · starts 1 Aug 2027
Notice summaryFrom the published notice

The University of Exeter is undertaking Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) to inform the development of its procurement strategy and requirements for a future Student Residence Carpet Cleaning Services contract. The University is seeking engagement from suitably experienced carpet cleaning service providers to better understand current market capability, service delivery models, specialist cleaning techniques, innovation, sustainability, staffing and mobilisation considerations, pricing approaches and other factors that may inform the development of the future procurement.

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The University of Exeter is undertaking Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) to inform the development of its procurement strategy and requirements for a future Student Residence Carpet Cleaning Services contract. The University is seeking engagement from suitably experienced carpet cleaning service providers to better understand current market capability, service delivery models, specialist cleaning techniques, innovation, sustainability, staffing and mobilisation considerations, pricing approaches and other factors that may inform the development of the future procurement. Interested suppliers are invited to review the information provided and complete the associated PME questionnaire. Feedback received will be used to help shape the University's requirements, specification, commercial model and approach to the subsequent procurement exercise. Responses should be submitted via the University's e-tendering portal by 12:00pm on Friday 11th December 2026. The University will review responses on a rolling basis throughout the pre-market engagement period and may contact suppliers before the closing date to seek clarification, request additional information or arrange follow-up discussions where appropriate. Participation in this PME does not constitute a commitment by the University to undertake a procurement exercise or award a contract. Participation, or non-participation, will not advantage or disadvantage any supplier in any subsequent procurement process.

CPV: Accommodation cleaning services · Cleaning services · Textile-cleaning services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 3 yrsSMEVCSE
Contract period: 1 Aug 2027 – 31 Jul 2030 (3 yrs) · up to 31 Jul 2032 with extensions
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions: Extension options published

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How University of Exeter buys Cleaning services (CPV 9091), and who usually turns up

University of Exeter’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Cleaning services (CPV 9091) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerUniversity of Exeter · division 90
The marketCleaning services (CPV 9091) · UK-wide
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
i

The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.

Buyer: 4 of 7 known-size awards · market: CPV 9091 · UK-wide, n=606
57%74%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.

Buyer: 1 of 3 known-location awards · market: CPV 9091 · UK-wide, n=605
1 of 361%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.

How long to a decision?
i
Buyer: no decision dates published · market: CPV 9091 · UK-wide, n=286
—66 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 66 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.

Buyer: at least 6 of 7 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 9091 · UK-wide, n=670
86%18%

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
This buyer25 lots with bid counts · all categories
36% had one bid
The market589 lots with bid counts · CPV 9091 · UK-wide
8% had one bid
% of lots with a published bid count: this buyer (25) / the market (589) · select a colour for counts
1 bid36% / 8%
Buyer: 9 of 25 lots with published bid counts. Market: 48 of 589 lots with published bid counts.
2–320% / 14%
Buyer: 5 of 25 lots with published bid counts. Market: 82 of 589 lots with published bid counts.
4–624% / 49%
Buyer: 6 of 25 lots with published bid counts. Market: 286 of 589 lots with published bid counts.
7+20% / 29%
Buyer: 5 of 25 lots with published bid counts. Market: 173 of 589 lots with published bid counts.

How did awards compare with estimates?

i
This buyer20 lots with estimate and award · all categories
50% below estimate
The market343 lots with estimate and award · CPV 9091 · UK-wide
27% below estimate
% of lots with an estimate and award: this buyer (20) / the market (343) · select a colour for counts
Below estimate50% / 27%
Buyer: 10 of 20 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 91 of 343 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%45% / 40%
Buyer: 9 of 20 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 137 of 343 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate5% / 34%
Buyer: 1 of 20 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 115 of 343 lots with an estimate and award.
2

Assess each lot
i

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 909136 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£150k
Expected competition
i

Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 589 past lots.

—No model forecast yet8% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 589 similar lots
1 bid8%
48 of 589 similar past lots received 1 bid (8%).
2–314%
82 of 589 similar past lots received 2–3 (14%).
4–649%
286 of 589 similar past lots received 4–6 (49%).
7+29%
173 of 589 similar past lots received 7+ (29%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 5 bids.
Commercial price forecast
i

No comparable awards for this lot yet.

—No model forecast yet
No comparable awards on record for this lot’s category yet. The published estimate is £150k, and the forecast stays empty until the market has a record to read.

Who has supplied this buyer on similar work?
i

No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.

Who could compete for this lot?
i

Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.

About this data
  • Estimates, labelled. The price range, possible competitors and earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards, not published facts, win chances or price advice. The buyer’s own record and the wider market are shown apart, never mixed.
  • Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender and Contracts Finder), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0, updated through the day and rebuilt nightly. Not every figure uses both feeds, and each one shows how many records it rests on: see the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Planned procurement
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
Unspecified in notice
First published
10 Nov 2026, 15:05 GMT
Last source update
10 Nov 2026, 15:05 GMT
Authority reference
UOE_2026_177_CO
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-106750
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Accommodation cleaning servicesCleaning servicesTextile-cleaning services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07b8bc Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

10 Nov 2026 → 1 Aug 2027 · 4 dates
  1. Planning notice published2 days ago
    10 Nov 2026, 15:05 GMT
  2. Today
    13 Nov 2026
  3. Market engagementin 28 days
    11 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
  4. Tender notice expectedin 80 days
    1 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT
  5. Contract startsin 260 days
    1 Aug 2027

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    10 Nov 2026, 15:05 GMT
    UK2

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

University of Exeter

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PZYG-2396-XCRZ Northcote House, Exeter, South West, EX4 4QJContact name, email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure