Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 22 May 2026, 16:29 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Thriving Economy: New City Centre Box Space

Authority: Wolverhampton City Council (Local council)

ServicesCompetitive flexible procedureAbove thresholdConcessionSME suitable
Concession value (operator's revenue)Value not publishedoperator revenue, not the authority's budget
Tender notice expected 1 Jul 2026from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 25 yrsends 31 Oct 2051 · starts 1 Nov 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The purpose of this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) is to seek input from potential suppliers within the market, to establish the type of arrangement preferred within in the market for the delivery and operation of a city centre box space.

Box Space / Food Hall-type venues have become an increasingly important part of the UK's hospitality and leisure landscape over the past decade, driven by changing consumer preferences, the rise of independent street-food operators and the growing demand for informal, experience-led social environments.

The proposition combines multiple independent food traders, a centrally operated bar and flexible communal seating, all complemented by curated events programming and a strong operator-led brand identity.

City of Wolverhampton Council are seeking input from market operators to determine input on the commercial model and contracting structure, as well as seek to confirm interest from the market.

CPV: Beverage-serving services · Construction work for buildings relating to leisure, sports, culture, lodging and restaurants · Restaurant and food-serving services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

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

How Wolverhampton City Council buys Building construction work (CPV 4521), and who usually turns up

Wolverhampton City Council’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: Building construction work (CPV 4521) →

1

How the contest usually goes

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

Question for the bid
This buyerWolverhampton City Council · division 45
The marketBuilding construction work (CPV 4521) · West Midlands
What 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 3 known-size awards · market: CPV 4521 · West Midlands, n=106
2 of 373%

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 West Midlands.

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

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 16 of 18 known-location awards · market: CPV 4521 · West Midlands, n=138
89%25%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in 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 4521 · West Midlands, n=31
—54 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 54 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 5 of 16 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 4521 · West Midlands, n=175
31%38%

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 buyer46 lots with bid counts · all categories
13% had one bid
The market40 lots with bid counts · CPV 4521 · West Midlands
23% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid13% / 23%
Buyer: 6 of 46 lots with published bid counts. Market: 9 of 40 lots with published bid counts.
2–335% / 33%
Buyer: 16 of 46 lots with published bid counts. Market: 13 of 40 lots with published bid counts.
4–622% / 28%
Buyer: 10 of 46 lots with published bid counts. Market: 11 of 40 lots with published bid counts.
7+30% / 18%
Buyer: 14 of 46 lots with published bid counts. Market: 7 of 40 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 buyer5 lots with estimate and award · broad CPV 45
20% below estimate
The market47 lots with estimate and award · CPV 4521 · West Midlands
36% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate20% / 36%
Buyer: 1 of 5 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 17 of 47 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%60% / 23%
Buyer: 3 of 5 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 11 of 47 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate20% / 40%
Buyer: 1 of 5 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 19 of 47 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 4521300 monthsSME suitableEstimate not published
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 40 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet23% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 40 similar lots
1 bid23%
9 of 40 similar past lots received 1 bid (23%).
2–333%
13 of 40 similar past lots received 2–3 (33%).
4–628%
11 of 40 similar past lots received 4–6 (28%).
7+18%
7 of 40 similar past lots received 7+ (18%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 3 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.

—Estimate not published
The buyer published no estimate for this lot, so there is nothing to forecast against. A price prediction here would be a number about a number we do not have.

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.

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.

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.

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
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Concession
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
22 May 2026, 16:29 BST
Last source update
18 Jun 2026, 10:57 BST
Authority reference
CWC26054MW
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-057448
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Beverage-serving servicesConstruction work for buildings relating to leisure, sports, culture, lodging and restaurantsRestaurant and food-serving services
Delivery area
West Midlands (UKG39)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06a222 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

22 May 2026 → 1 Nov 2026 · 5 dates
  1. Planning notice published155 days ago
    22 May 2026, 16:29 BST
  2. Latest notice published128 days ago
    18 Jun 2026, 10:57 BST
  3. Market engagement117 days ago
    29 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST

    Interested suppliers are invited to respond to the pre-market engagement questionnaire which is available via the Council's tendering portal, Due North: www.wolverhamptontenders.com ↗

  4. Tender notice expected115 days ago
    1 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
  5. Today
    24 Oct 2026
  6. Contract startsin 7 days
    1 Nov 2026

Notice history

4 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 22 May 2026
  1. Pipeline notice published
    22 May 2026, 16:29 BST
    UK1
  2. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    8 Jun 2026, 10:56 BST
    UK2
  3. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    8 Jun 2026, 10:59 BST
    UK2
  4. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    18 Jun 2026, 10:57 BST
    UK2
Published amendments (1)

Extension to engagement deadline

Routine re-releases (4)
  • 2026-05: 1 release · 22 May 2026

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

Wolverhampton City Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PVBV-7568-LBLL Civic Centre, St Peter's Square, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV1 1SHContact email

Official documents & specifications (4)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure