Official UK procurement notice
Supply, Delivery, Installation and Commissioning of an Advanced Fluorescence Microscope System with Widefield, Confocal and Super-Resolution Imaging Capabilities
Authority: Heriot-Watt University (Education)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionHeriot-Watt University is seeking a contractor to supply, deliver and install an advanced fluorescence microscope with automated and AI-guided acquisition capabilities and widefield, confocal and super-resolution imaging modalities for biomedical research use within one of its laboratories situated in its School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at its Edinburgh campus.
CPV: Microscopes
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat 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 (2)
- Technical: 80%
- Commercial: 20%
Published award criteria (2)
- Technical: 80
- Commercial: 20
- Economic & financial standing
Bidders will be required to have a minimum “general” yearly turnover of the amount listed below, for the last 2 years. Where turnover information is not available for the time period requested, the bidder will be required to state the date which they were set up/started trading.
The Successful Contractor will be required to provide two years audited accounts, or equivalent prior to awarded to the Contract, or confirm in their tender submission the publicly accessible, free, online location of accounts if available in such a format.
There must be no qualification or contra-indication from any evidence provided in support of the Contractor’s economic and financial standing.
It is a requirement of this contract that bidders hold, or can commit to obtain prior to the commencement of any contract, the types and levels of insurance listed below.
Bidders also must confirm they can provide the following supporting evidence at point of award.
Minimum: Turnover Requirements : Bidders will be required to have a minimum “general” yearly turnover of 1,200,000 GBP for the last 2 years. Insurance Requirements: It is a requirement of this contract that bidders hold, or can commit to obtain prior to the commencement of any contract, t…
- Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £1,200,000 (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 Heriot-Watt University runs Microscopes (CPV 3851) tenders for its clients, and who usually turns up
Heriot-Watt University procures on behalf of other bodies; its record below covers every client it has tendered for, 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: Microscopes (CPV 3851) →
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 the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in Scotland.
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 36 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.
The buyer’s share is a minimum: 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 bid42% / 35%
2–325% / 59%
4–60% / 6%
7+33% / 0%
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 estimate38%
Within ±2%31%
Above estimate31%
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 3851Published estimate£600k
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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 bid27%
2–356%
4–615%
7+2%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
Based on 1 comparable award. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£504k–£600k
Estimate£600k
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh Instruments LtdWorked for this buyer | Purchase of Research Raman Microscopenotice published Jun 2024 | — | — | 78% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| £53m58 awards in 36m · last this month | 24 live · £1.8m 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. | at estimate n=3 | |
JEOL (UK) LtdLarge | £4.9m12 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 4 live · £908k 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. | 15% below n=2 |
| £1.0m6 awards in 36m · last this month | 1 live · £91k 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 | |
RefeynSME | £1.1m6 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 2 live · £294k 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. | 4% above n=1 |
Fisher Scientific UKLarge | £821k26 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 3 live · £294k 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. | 6% below n=2 |
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the match score are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 16 Oct 2026, 10:59 BST
- Last source update
- 16 Oct 2026, 10:59 BST
- Award evaluation window
- 16 Nov 2026 – …
- Authority reference
HWU-UK-2627-102-00- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-097804- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078937Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
Publisher note: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Tenderers will be asked to submit the following forms. These forms are for information only and will not be scored. Form of Tender Bona Fide Tender Freedom of Information Supply Chain Code of Conduct The Successful Tenderer must confirm that they comply with the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The Successful Tenderer will be required to provide two years audited accounts, or equivalent prior to awarded to the Contract, or confirm in their tender submission the publicly accessible, free, online location of accounts if available in such a format. There must be no qualification or contra-indication from any evidence provided in support of the Contractor’s economic and financial standing. Where the capability & capacity of a subcontractor, members of a consortia or any other body will be relied on, separate SPD(s) are required from each of those other parties relied on. Where subcontractors are to be used but their capability & capacity are not relied on, the University may choose to request separate SPD(s). The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 32985. The ITT code is itt_66000. The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 32985. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343 (SC Ref:845884)
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Public Contracts ScotlandTender documents are also served through a separate tool: https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/esop/pts-host/public/pts/web/login.html ↗
- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 16 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- —
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bids opened
- 16 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
Timeline
16 Oct 2026 → 16 Nov 2026 · 3 dates- Notice published1 day ago16 Oct 2026, 10:59 BST
- Today17 Oct 2026
- Submission deadlinein 30 days16 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Bids openedin 30 days16 Nov 2026, 12:00 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
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Edinburgh Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace CourtReview body
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice; the tender pack is on the portal.