Find a TenderAwardedContract award notice
Published 22 May 2025, 17:35 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Sunderland Museum and Winter Garden Redevelopment

Official notice

Authority: Sunderland City Council (Local council)

WorksOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Published estimate£7,500,000≈ £3.3m / year · £9,000,000 inc. VAT · 1 value update
Submissions closed 25 Feb 2026awarded 2 Apr 2026
Award (standstill) to Brims Construction Limited
Contract term 2 yrs 3 moends 30 Jun 2028 · starts 30 Mar 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Plans include moving the main entrance to the terrace adjacent Mowbray Park, better connecting the museum to the park. The ground floor will be completely transformed with a new central atrium space, new galleries and more family friendly activities and exhibitions. The redevelopment will also create a new learning and engagement zone to complement the Winter Gardens with imaginative educational and outreach programmes focusing on the museum's collections, the natural world, biodiversity and climate change

  • No preliminary market engagement: N/A - preliminary market engagement been carried out

CPV: Museum construction work

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Awarded 2 yrs 3 moSMEPublished value£7,500,000
Contract period: 30 Mar 2026 – 30 Jun 2028 (2 yrs 3 mo)Value: £7,500,000 exc. VAT · £9,000,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: North EastEligibility: SME eligible
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)1
  • Technical & professional ability

    Refer to the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) within the tender documentation.

    Suppliers must be able to demonstrate that they can fulfil contracts of the size and nature of this contract and have been performed within the last 5 years (i.e. January 2021 to December 2025)

    To demonstrate this the examples must include the following elements:

    • Redevelopment works of a similar value (range £5m to £15m)
    • Works to a listed building or historic monument
    • Works within a museum and/or gallery
    • Works within a site where employee access is required

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: 30%Social value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
  • Quality: 1a - Second step delivery proposals for RIBA Stage 4 - 10% 1b - Outline Construction Methodology for RIBA Stages 5 to 7 - 10% 2 - Project Team - 10% 3 - Sustainability - 5% 4 - Affordability Appraisal - 15% 5 - General Approach to Health & Safety - 10%
  • Social Value
  • Price: PCSA Price evaluated on median price basis - 20% Overheads and Profit percentage evaluated on median basis - 10%
Conditions of participation1
  • Technical & professional ability

    Refer to the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) within the tender documentation.

    Suppliers must be able to demonstrate that they can fulfil contracts of the size and nature of this contract and have been performed within the last 5 years (i.e. January 2021 to December 2025)

    To demonstrate this the examples must include the following elements:

    • Redevelopment works of a similar value (range £5m to £15m)
    • Works to a listed building or historic monument
    • Works within a museum and/or gallery
    • Works within a site where employee access is required
What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 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
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Works
Notice status
Awarded
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
22 May 2025, 17:35 BST
Last source update
2 Apr 2026, 14:59 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 16 Mar 2026
Authority reference
OPEN202628
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-002404
Latest notice
Contract award notice (UK6)
Classification (CPV)
Museum construction work
Delivery area
North East (UKC23)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-051f58 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: portal not identified
Electronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Submission deadline
25 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
18 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

You will need to create an account on Open in order to access and bid for public sector opportunities issued by Sunderland City Council.

Visit www.open-uk.org ↗ to register an account (www.open-uk.org ↗)

(Registration is free and easy. Simply head over towww.open-uk.org ↗ and complete the online registration form).(www.open-uk.org ↗)

Top tips to help you get started:

  • Keep an eye out for the temporary password to confirm your account - this is only valid for 3 days so if you have not logged in during this period, you will need to contact [email protected] to request a new temporary password
  • Adding your Companies House number will populate fields and make it easier to register
  • Once registered, select Codes & Categories relevant to your area of business
  • Add [email protected] to your safe sender list to ensure you don't miss out on notifications of relevant opportunities
  • The Open Hub is packed with resources and information to help you get the most out of Open. We have answered your questions in our FAQsection and developed a range of how-to guides so you can familiarise yourself with the system at your own pace. Visit www.open-hub.org ↗ to find out more(www.open-hub.org ↗)

Suppliers must also register on the Central Digital Platform(CDP) and ensure their information is up-to-date on the system .

The CDP is available at www.gov.uk/find-tender ↗.

Timeline

22 May 2025 → 16 Apr 2026 · 10 dates
  1. Planning notice published
    22 May 2025, 17:35 BST
  2. Next notice expected
    1 Sept 2025, 23:59 BST
  3. Tender notice published287 days ago
    12 Jan 2026, 16:22 GMT
  4. Clarification questions by250 days ago
    18 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
  5. Submission deadline243 days ago
    25 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
  6. Award decision expected by224 days ago
    16 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
  7. Contract starts211 days ago
    30 Mar 2026, 00:00 BST
  8. Assessment summaries sent208 days ago
    2 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
  9. Latest notice published207 days ago
    2 Apr 2026, 14:59 BST
  10. Standstill ends193 days ago
    16 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST

Notice history

9 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 22 May 2025
  1. Pipeline notice published
    22 May 2025, 17:35 BST
    UK1
  2. Tender notice published
    12 Jan 2026, 16:22 GMT
    UK4
  3. Published value published: £7,500,000
    12 Jan 2026, 16:22 GMT
  4. Status changed to active
    12 Jan 2026, 16:22 GMT
  5. Procurement method changed
    12 Jan 2026, 16:22 GMT
  6. Deadline published: 25 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
    12 Jan 2026, 16:22 GMT
  7. Contract award notice published
    2 Apr 2026, 14:59 BST
    UK6
  8. Status changed to complete
    2 Apr 2026, 14:59 BST
  9. Contract signature expected
    17 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
    scheduled

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £47,1521 award exc. VAT
Bids received 44 from SMEs
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Brims Construction LimitedSunderland Museum and Winter Gardens Redevelopment4 May 2026 – 31 Jul 2026£47,1522 Apr 2026standstill to 16 Apr 2026Standstill

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
4final-stage tenders40—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Sunderland City Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PLVZ-4154-GGRZ City Hall, Plater Way,, Sunderland, North East, SR1 3AAContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • Brims Construction LimitedAwarded supplierGB-COH: 03288664 Ravensworth House, 5th Avenue Business Park, Gateshead, North East, NE11 0HFContact 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
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Pipeline notice planningPipeline noticeUK1Pipeline notice on Find a Tender