Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 13 May 2026, 11:35 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Supply, Installation, Commissioning & Post-Warranty Maintenance of Flow Cytometry Instrumentation and Provision of Reagents

Authority: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Central government)

GoodsAbove thresholdSME suitable
Planned pipeline value£2,020,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 1 Dec 2026from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 5 yrsends 31 Aug 2032 · starts 1 Sept 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) seeks to engage with potential suppliers via this Preliminary Market Engagement exercise to seek feedback and information to the provision of Flow Cytometry Instrumentation and Reagents to CUH. Clinical flow cytometry is currently performed within the Haematopathology and Oncology Diagnostic Service (HODS) and Immunology departments based in 2 separate locations at Addenbrookes's Hospital.

  1. The HODS service is a regional specialist integrated diagnostic and follow-up service for Haematological neoplasms, serving a population of approximately 4 million. HODS perform a wide range of highly complex flow cytometry assays (8-10 colours) including those for monitoring minimal residual disease (MRD). Current workload is around 20,000 assays per year.
  2. Immunology at CUH provide a routine diagnostic service of nearly 6,000 tests a year. In collaboration with Clinical and research teams across the Trust, Immunology are expanding their existing repertoire, to support diagnosis of Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH).

The requirements are anticipated to include:

  • Provision of flow cytometry instrumentation (at least two separate flow cytometry systems will be required due to location of clinical laboratories)
  • Provision of reagents to support a wide range of diagnostic assays across the two services
  • Provision of pre-analytical automation solutions
  • Digital connectivity solutions including off-line analysis and integration into EPIC EPR.

The Authority wishes to involve the market in discussing the following general points:

  • Current market and market interest in this project
  • Available contracting models (incl. reagent rental and lease agreement)
  • Currently available or novel solutions for refining the whole workflow process through pre-analytical, analytical, post analytical phases
  • Innovation and opportunities (for example Spectral Flow Cytometry)

CPV: Cytometers

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Planned 5 yrsSME
Contract period: 1 Sept 2027 – 31 Aug 2032 (5 yrs)
Delivery: East of EnglandEligibility: SME eligible

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

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

How Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust buys Detection and analysis apparatus (CPV 3843), and who usually turns up

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’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: Detection and analysis apparatus (CPV 3843) →

1

How the contest usually goes

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

Question for the bidWhat to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 2 of 13 known-size awards · market: CPV 3843 · East of England, n=19
15%32%

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

How often do local suppliers win?
i

How often local firms win similar work.

Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.

Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in East of England.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 9 of 27 known-location awards · market: CPV 3843 · East of England, n=23
33%30%

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

How long to a decision?
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.

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

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no decision dates published · market: CPV 3843 · UK-wide, n=27
—24 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 24 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

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

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 7 of 27 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 3843 · East of England, n=35
26%57%

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyerToo few to chart: 2 lots with bid counts, 5 needed · all categories
The market70 lots with bid counts · CPV 3843 · UK-wide
31% had one bid
Market · select a colour for counts
1 bid31%
Market: 22 of 70 lots with published bid counts.
2–346%
Market: 32 of 70 lots with published bid counts.
4–620%
Market: 14 of 70 lots with published bid counts.
7+3%
Market: 2 of 70 lots with published bid counts.

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyerNo estimate-and-award pairs published
The market38 lots with estimate and award · CPV 3843 · UK-wide
61% below estimate
Market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate61%
Market: 23 of 38 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%26%
Market: 10 of 38 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate13%
Market: 5 of 38 lots with an estimate and award.
2

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.

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

Lot #1CPV 384360 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£2.0m
Expected competition
i

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. The bar shows 70 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet31% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 70 similar lots
1 bid31%
22 of 70 similar past lots received 1 bid (31%).
2–346%
32 of 70 similar past lots received 2–3 (46%).
4–620%
14 of 70 similar past lots received 4–6 (20%).
7+3%
2 of 70 similar past lots received 7+ (3%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 2 bids.
Commercial price forecast
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.

No comparable awards for this lot yet.

A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.

—No model forecast yet
No comparable awards on record for this lot’s category yet. The published estimate is £2.0m, and the forecast stays empty until the market has a record to read.

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.

SupplierThis buyer’s earlier contractLotAward valueWhy listed
Leica Microsystems (UK) LtdLive contractSupply, Installation, Validation, Verification and Post-Warranty Maintenance of Ultramicrotomeruns to Mar 2033—£159kMatched as the earlier contract

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.

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

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 earlier-work matches 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.

What this replaces
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

42% title match.

A past supplier may not bid again.

The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (42% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid

Supply, Installation, Validation, Verification and Post-Warranty Maintenance of Ultramicrotome — held by Leica Microsystems (UK) Ltd; the published contract ends 31 Mar 2033.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Goods
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
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
13 May 2026, 11:35 BST
Last source update
13 Jul 2026, 10:30 BST
Authority reference
ADD/PU/EW/26/06
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-065486
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Cytometers
Delivery area
East of England (UKH)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-069762 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

13 May 2026 → 1 Sept 2027 · 5 dates
  1. Planning notice published166 days ago
    13 May 2026, 11:35 BST
  2. Latest notice published105 days ago
    13 Jul 2026, 10:30 BST
  3. Market engagement41 days ago
    15 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST

    Invite direct contact from suppliers via email to [email protected] (HODS) and [email protected] (Immunology) on or before 15th September 2026 (Tue).

  4. Today
    26 Oct 2026
  5. Tender notice expectedin 36 days
    1 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
  6. Contract startsin 309 days
    1 Sept 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

4 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 13 May 2026
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    13 May 2026, 11:35 BST
    UK2
  2. Pipeline notice published
    26 May 2026, 12:17 BST
    UK1
  3. Status changed to planned
    26 May 2026, 12:17 BST
  4. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    13 Jul 2026, 10:30 BST
    UK2
Published amendments (1)

Extend the deadline of Preliminary Market Engagement

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

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-NHS: RGT Hills Road, Cambridge, East of England, CB2 0QQContact name, email, phone

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure