TenderlineUK
Procurement Intelligence
Official OCDSSearch
Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 6 Oct 2026, 12:39 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Talking Trail Sculpture — UK public procurement notice

Official notice Competition analysis

Authority: Natural England (Central government)

ServicesBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdSME suitable
Sectors: Recreational, cultural and sporting services (92) Delivery: South East (UKJ)
Published estimate£20,000£24,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 15 Oct 202623:59 BST · 9d 10h left
Contract term 5 mostarts 23 Oct 2026
Bids per lot · the market 4division 92 · n=35 · competition analysis ↓

What is being bought

Published requirement description

To create, deliver and install six hardwood sculptures To be delivered by 15 March 2027

CPV: Services provided by sculptors

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Lot 1 5 moSMEPublished value£20,000
Contract period: 23 Oct 2026 — 15 Mar 2027 (5 mo)Eligibility: SME eligibleDelivery: South EastTurnover guideline: ~£40,000/yr≈ 2× annual value
Value
£20,000 exc. VAT · £24,000 inc. VAT
92312230 Services provided by sculptors

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

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 are scored

Full details in RFQ

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

How Natural England buys Artistic and literary creation and interpretation services (CPV 9231) — and who usually turns up

Natural England’s own published record, next to the South East England market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Artistic and literary creation and interpretation services (CPV 9231) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested contracts only — direct awards (including PA 2023 transparency notices) report one bid by definition and are left out. On Procurement Act 2023 notices the count is the tenders assessed at the final stage, not every submission received; pairs compare like with like (VAT-exclusive, or VAT-inclusive on both sides). Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.

This authority

Natural England

contract notices in 36 months: 9 in division 92 (2 route not published) · 230 in all categories (2 without competition · 6 route not published)

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 1 lots. All 1 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices, which count bids assessed. Small sample.

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

3all categories · 36m · n=1 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 1 lots. Small sample.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

0%all categories · 36m · n=1 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 92), last 36 months: 5 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

6% belowdivision 92 · 36m · n=5 pairs
Deadline → award date
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.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 16 notices.

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

Last 36 months.

12dall categories · 36m · n=16 notices
Notice updates
i

How often this buyer changes a notice after publishing it.

Middle number of amendments per notice. Deadline extensions and corrections both count.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 24 months: 270 notices.

Last 24 months.

3all categories · 24m · n=270 notices
Awarded without competition
i

How often this buyer awards without a competition.

Direct or limited awards as a share of its notices that say which procedure was used. These routes are legal in defined cases. This is just the record.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 92), last 36 months: 7 notices.

Last 36 months.

0%division 92 · 36m · n=7 notices
Winning award vs estimate robust · n=5
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 5 lot pairs · division 92, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 80%
  • Within ±2% 20%
  • Above estimate 0%

5 lot pairs · division 92.

How procedures are run robust · n=7
i

Which procedures buyers here use.

Notices by the procedure they declare: open, selective, limited or direct. Open and selective are competitions; limited and direct are not.

Based on 9 notices · division 92, last 36 months.

  • Open 100%
  • Selective 0%
  • Limited 0%
  • Direct 0%

9 notices · division 92. Open and selective are competed (they feed the bid and price figures above); limited and direct are not; notices publishing no route are outside all four.

The market · delivery region

South East England · Artistic and literary creation and interpretation services (CPV 9231)

contract notices delivered in South East England in 36 months: 15 in CPV 9231 (12 competed, 1 route not published) · 142 in division 92 (115 competed, 22 route not published)

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 92), last 36 months: 35 lots. 28 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 4) and 7 from older notices (bids received, middle 4).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

4division 92 · 36m · n=35 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 92), last 36 months: 35 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

3%division 92 · 36m · n=35 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 9231), last 36 months: 5 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

11% belowCPV 9231 · 36m · n=5 pairs
Deadline → award date
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.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 92), last 36 months: 24 notices.

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

Last 36 months.

47ddivision 92 · 36m · n=24 notices
SME bidders
i

How much of this market goes to small and medium firms.

SME bidders where buyers published the split, otherwise SME winners.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 92), last 36 months: 32 lots.

Last 36 months.

50%division 92 · 36m · n=32 lots
Winners based in the region
i

How much work like this goes to companies based in the delivery region.

Awards in this category delivered here where the winner’s registered address is in the region.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 9231), last 36 months: 7 awards.

Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.

Last 36 months.

57%CPV 9231 · 36m · n=7 awards
Bids per lot robust · n=35
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 35 lots on 31 contested notices · division 92, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 3%
  • 2–3 37%
  • 4–6 37%
  • 7+ 23%

Middle value 4 · 35 lots on 31 contested notices · division 92.

Winning award vs estimate robust · n=5
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 5 lot pairs · CPV 9231, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 80%
  • Within ±2% 20%
  • Above estimate 0%

5 lot pairs · CPV 9231.

robust · n=5
i

Where this tender’s estimate would land if the usual pattern repeats.

We apply the buyer’s usual movement between estimate and award (or the region’s) to the estimate on this notice.

Based on this buyer’s own usual movement over 5 lots (division 92), applied to the £20,000 estimate on this notice.

A benchmark, not a price to bid.

The middle award in Natural England (division 92, n=5 pairs) lands 6% below: on this notice’s £20,000 that is about £18,820. Context for a bid, not a recommended price.
Coverage and what to read with care
  • Each tile explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two columns are never blended and nothing is filled from a UK-wide figure; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
  • Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). About 30 % of award-vs-estimate pairs are exact matches — the buyer published the award at the estimate. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden.
  • “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Below threshold - open competition
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Open for tender
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
No (one-off requirement)
First published
6 Oct 2026, 12:39 BST
Last source update
6 Oct 2026, 12:39 BST
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Services provided by sculptors
Delivery area
South East (UKJ)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078195 Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice
Expression of interest (EOI)
—
Tender submission deadline
15 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
Clarification deadline
—
Electronic submission
Not allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
To apply for this opportunity you must submit your quotation meeting the requirements detailed in the Request for Quotation (RFQ) attached. Your response must be sent to [email protected] by 23:59 on Thursday 15th October 2026. If you have any clarification questions linked to this opportunity or the procurement process please submit these via email to [email protected]. Please note that, unless commercially sensitive, both the question and the response will be circulated to all tenderers.
Published estimate £20,000 excludes VAT (£24,000 including VAT).

Timeline

3 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Tender notice publishedearlier today
    6 Oct 2026, 12:27 BST
  2. Submission deadlinein 9 days
    15 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
  3. Contract startsin 16 days
    23 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Nothing awarded yet
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 6 Oct 2026
  1. Tender notice published
    6 Oct 2026, 12:39 BSTUK4
  2. Deadline moved to 15 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
    6 Oct 2026, 12:39 BST+0 days · was 15 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
  3. Tender notice published
    6 Oct 2026, 12:27 BSTUK4
Published amendments (1)

Appendix 1 added to documents

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Natural England

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PJDG-6588-XDMM Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, London, SW1P 4DF

Official documents & specifications (8)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender