Official UK procurement notice
TfL Vegetation Inspection Services
Authority: Transport for London (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionTransport for London (TfL) is establishing a contract for vegetation inspection services to enable TfL to access arboricultural, ecological and environmental expertise, whether that is regular, ongoing maintenance or one-off, project-specific requests.
In addition, this contract will require the supplier to provide TfL with full access to, and ownership of, the track inspection and ecological data that is collected. The context supporting this contract is an increased legislative requirement for TfL to be aware of, and report on, ecological data.
The contract will include:
Track-side vegetation inspections - Environmental and vegetation inspections occurring on and around the track, including fencing (if required) inspections, routine off-track PM6 vegetation inspections, cyclical Tree Condition Assessments, possession tree work specifications and canopy corridor assessments in relation to leaf-fall adhesion risk. Inspections will be carried out in line with TfL track engineering safety standards to ensure the track is safe for operation, by suitably certificated personnel (including Sentinel with ICI-LUL endorsement and LANTRA tree inspection qualifications).
Built environment vegetation inspections - Environmental and vegetation inspections in and around station grounds, car parks and green roofs (if required). These inspections will be carried out to ensure TfL's built environment is safe for staff and the public using TfL services.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Sept 2029, 23:59 BST.
- How the procedure runs: 1. Conditions of participation / selection stage 2. Initial tenders - first round of submissions against the published criteria 3. Negotiation / dialogue rounds - one or more rounds of structured discussion, demonstrations, site visits or refinement of solutions 4. Final tenders - submitted against the refined requirement 5. Assessment and award - against the MAT (most advantageous tender) criteria as published 6. Contract award notice + assessment summaries - to unsuccessful suppliers, triggering the 8-working-day standstill
- No preliminary market engagement: Market engagement has taken place. Initially one notice was published (UK2: Preliminary market engagement notice Notice identifier: 2025/S 000-071670 Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-05dbea) for one framework consisting of 3 lots. This has changed now to two tenders (one contract awarded to one supplier - this tender notice applies) and another (one frameworks consisting of up to 5 suppliers). The market engagement notice will apply to the latter.
CPV: Engineering-related scientific and technical services · Environmental monitoring for construction · Railway-track inspection services · Railway-track maintenance services · Road-inspection services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£690,000
- Technical & professional ability
At the selection (shortlisting) stage, suppliers must complete the Procurement Specific Questionnaire and respond to experience-based questions demonstrating relevant experience of comparable services.
Personnel delivering the services will be required to hold the qualifications and certifications set out in the specification, including Sentinel with ICI-LUL endorsement, LANTRA Basic / Professional Tree Inspection qualifications and a minimum NQF Level 3 arboricultural qualification for tree condition assessment surveyors.
What 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 (5)
- Technical: 35%
- Quality: 15%
- Commercial: 30%
- Social Value: 10%
- Safety, Health and Environment: 10%
Published award criteria (5)
- Technical: Methodology, skills, expertise, innovation and project management
- Commercial: Pricing and contract
- Quality: Survey, inspection and data assurance processes
- Social Value: Tailored Themes Outcomes and Measures or the Tailored TOM System
- Safety, Health and Environment: Health and safety practices, mitigating dangers, approach toward working in hazardous environments
- Technical & professional ability
At the selection (shortlisting) stage, suppliers must complete the Procurement Specific Questionnaire and respond to experience-based questions demonstrating relevant experience of comparable services.
Personnel delivering the services will be required to hold the qualifications and certifications set out in the specification, including Sentinel with ICI-LUL endorsement, LANTRA Basic / Professional Tree Inspection qualifications and a minimum NQF Level 3 arboricultural qualification for tree condition assessment surveyors.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £459,580 (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 Transport for London buys Technical inspection and testing services (CPV 7163), and who usually turns up
Transport for London’s own published record, 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: Technical inspection and testing services (CPV 7163) →
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 registered in Greater London.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside Greater London.
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 103 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.
Both shares are minimums: 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 bid45% / 17%
2–346% / 33%
4–68% / 17%
7+2% / 33%
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 estimate48% / 47%
Within ±2%32% / 30%
Above estimate20% / 23%
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 7163Published estimate£690k
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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid9%
2–352%
4–627%
7+12%
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 4 comparable awards. 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%£553k–£690k
Estimate£690k
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.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Accenture UK LimitedLarge | £495m40 awards in 36m · last this month | 5 live · £401m 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=6 |
WSP UK LimitedLarge | £487m117 awards in 36m · last this month | 43 live · £410m 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=18 |
AECOM LIMITEDLarge | £89m145 awards in 36m · last this month | 39 live · £66m 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. | 9% below n=33 |
AtkinsRéalis UK LtdLarge | £139m94 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 31 live · £189m 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=15 |
Mott MacDonaldLarge | £73m86 awards in 36m · last this month | 16 live · £41m 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. | 9% below n=20 |
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.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 1 Sept 2029
- First published
- 1 Sept 2026, 06:35 BST
- Last source update
- 9 Sept 2026, 04:14 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 20 Nov 2026
- Authority reference
WS1633114162- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-082422- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ef19Find a Tender
- How it runs
- Conditions of participation / selection stage
- Initial tenders - first round of submissions against the published criteria
- Negotiation / dialogue rounds - one or more rounds of structured discussion, demonstrations, site visits or refinement of solutions
- Final tenders - submitted against the refined requirement
- Assessment and award - against the MAT (most advantageous tender) criteria as published
- Contract award notice + assessment summaries - to unsuccessful suppliers, triggering the 8-working-day standstill
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via SAP Ariba- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 2 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- —
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
TfL will be using its SAP Ariba portal to manage the procurement which can be accessed through the following link: service.ariba.com/Supplier.aw ↗
To access the tender, you will need to be registered on this portal. If you encounter any problems, please contact:
Once registered on the SAP Ariba Business Network, you must then send your Ariba Network ID (ANID) with your completed Expression of Interest to the following email address:
with subject line "TfL Vegetation Inspection Services ".
Timeline
1 Sept 2026 → 1 Dec 2026 · 5 dates- Tender notice published50 days ago1 Sept 2026, 06:35 BST
- Latest notice published42 days ago9 Sept 2026, 04:14 BST
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Submission deadlinein 13 days2 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 31 days20 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 41 days1 Dec 2026
Notice history
5 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 1 Sept 2026- Tender notice published1 Sept 2026, 06:35 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published2 Sept 2026, 11:24 BSTUK4
- Deadline moved to 2 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT2 Sept 2026, 11:24 BST+0 days · was 2 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Tender notice published9 Sept 2026, 04:12 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published9 Sept 2026, 04:14 BSTUK4
Published amendments (3)
Contact email address has been updated
The tender is delayed and will only be available now mid October
The tender is delayed and will only be available now mid October
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2026-09: 1 release · 1 Sept 2026
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
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender