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Published 21 May 2025, 17:54 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Total Facilities Management · UK public procurement notice

Authority: Northern Trains Ltd (Public body)

ServicesCompetitive flexible procedureAbove thresholdUtilities

Sectors: Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services (77)Business Services & Consultancy (79)Cleaning & Environmental Services (90) Delivery: North East (UKC)North West (UKD)Yorkshire & Humber (UKE)

+6 more

East Midlands (UKF)West Midlands (UKG)East of England (UKH)London (UKI)South East (UKJ)South West (UKK)

Published estimate£151,726,942≈ £30m / year · £182,072,330 inc. VAT · 1 value update

Submissions closed 22 Jul 2026

Next notice expected 13 May 2026

Contract term 5 yrsends 30 Sept 2032 · up to 30 Sept 2035 with extensions · starts 1 Oct 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Northern Trains Limited (NTL) is going out to market for the procurement of Total Facilities Management (TFM) Services across our network of 474 train stations, 34 engineering locations and 27 beneficiary locations. This contract reflects our commitment to providing customer-focused, professionally managed, and high-quality service across our network that will support our long-term maintenance objectives.

The scope of services will be delivered with the goal of meeting the performance and customer satisfaction requirements while ensuring compliance with all relevant statutory and mandatory legislation. The FM Contractor will apply Best Industry Practice techniques, alongside their expertise and experience, to meet the following key objectives:

Delivering innovative and effective operational services that achieve high-quality standards and demonstrate value for money.
Offering flexible service delivery tailored to the specific needs of each location.
Achieving optimum building performance and customer satisfaction.
Creating a safe and comfortable environment for all service users.
Maintaining assets in line with current statutory and regulatory legislation, as well as manufacturer's guidance, to ensure maximum longevity.

Scope of Services:

The services covered under this contract will include, but are not limited to:

Mobilisation
Contract Management
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
General Service Requirements
CAFM System
Helpdesk Services
Planned and Reactive Maintenance
Strategic Asset Management Planning
Grounds Maintenance
Cleaning (Planned, Periodic, Reactive, and Specialist)
Pest Control
Poster Campaigns
Events Management
Additional Services

NTL has incorporated into the contract scope the provision of depot security services, Fire Risk Assessments (including coverage extended to medium-risk locations), and an option to deliver winterisation services to ensure a safe, compliant, and operationally resilient estate.

The contract also includes options for delivering Minor Works to support small-scale and ad hoc activities. These may include, but are not limited to, painting, platform markings, electrical works, minor building repairs, and other building fabric, mechanical, and electrical works.

This contract will mark a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to enhance service delivery and ensure the highest standards of operational excellence across all locations.

We look forward to a productive and successful partnership with our selected FM Contractor following the conclusion of this process.

Northern Trains Limited, is a Train Operating Company (TOC) that operates passenger rail services in the North of England. NTL is publishing this notice to establish a contract with a single supplier for the provision of Total Facilities Management services.

Where used throughout this notice, the meaning of Train Operating Companies includes all and any of those train operating companies who, currently or in the future, provide services for the carriage of passengers by railway:

under a franchise agreement with the Secretary of State within the meaning of section 23(3) of the Railways Act 1993 or

under, or secured under, the Secretary of State's duty in section 30(1) of the Railways Act 1993; or

in accordance with legislation which supersedes or amends the powers referred to in a) and b), including where such powers are transferred from the Secretary of State to another body.

The list of current providers of services for the carriage of passengers by railway under these provisions can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/public-regi… ↗.

Novation or Assignment

The contract may be novated or assigned by NTL to Train Operating Companies, or to DFT Operator Limited (company number: 07141122) or any successor parent company to a Train Operating Company, following a corporate restructuring or similar circumstance.

Other Information

Northern Trains Limited expressly reserves the right:

not to award any suppliers the contract referred to in this notice; and

in no circumstances will the customer be liable for any costs incurred by the suppliers.

The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 31 Mar 2034, 23:59 BST.
How the procedure runs: The Tender stages will be run as follows: Stage 1: All interested suppliers can apply to be considered for participation in this procurement exercise, through application via https://www.delta-esourcing.com/ Tenderbox Reference: WH84ASZ9H6 The Procurement Specific Questionnaire ('PSQ') will be evaluated in two (2) parts: Part 1: Mandatory information to be provided by the suppliers, failure to do so and in an accurate manner may lead to exclusion from the procurement process. Part 2: Questions relating to conditions of participation, including standard and technical questions All suppliers that have passed the submission of mandatory information will then be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria provided within the ITP documentation. The top 5 scoring suppliers for the technical questions and who pass all other conditions within the PSQ, including conditions of participation, will be shortlisted to participate in the Invitation to Negotiate ('ITN') stage. Should there not be the maximum number of suppliers capable of meeting the required criteria the number of successful suppliers taken forward to ITN will be reduced accordingly. In the instance where there is a tiebreak for any of the last successful positions, the number of successful suppliers would increase, and include any tied suppliers (set to two decimal places) as additional suppliers for the ITN. Therefore, the maximum number of successful suppliers made may increase where 2 or more suppliers have tied scores in the last successful position. All other suppliers (and non-compliant parties) will be notified as unsuccessful from the process at this stage. NTL reserves the right to not score any question response that had not been provided in line with the instructions provided in the ITP. Stage 2: Suppliers taken through from Stage 1 will be invited to submit their Tender Responses. Tender Responses will have three (3) distinct elements: - Technical Quality with a weighting of 45% - Pricing with a weighting of 45% - Social Value with a weighting of 10% NTL will undertake a comprehensive evaluation process to determine the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT). Tender Responses will initially be checked for compliance, including that all required returnables for the response have been submitted. If NTL does not consider a Tender Response compliant, it reserves the right not to carry out any further evaluation and eliminate the supplier from the procurement. During the ITN stage, suppliers will be invited to submit Interim Submissions prior to the submission of their Tender Responses. Although Interim Submissions will not be formally scored or evaluated, they are intended to support the procurement process by enabling NTL to: - Verify that bidders' approaches are aligned with expectations - Ensure proposed solutions are viable - Identify potential risks at an early stage - Clarify aspects of submissions that are ambiguous or lack sufficient detail The introduction of Interim Submissions is intended to promote continuous alignment between NTL and bidders, reduce risk and improve the overall quality of final tender submissions. At any stage following submission of a Tender Response, NTL reserves the right (but is not obliged) to seek clarification on any aspect of a supplier's submission. NTL may also require Negotiation Meetings in which the supplier may be required to present their Tender Response for the purposes verifying any aspect of that Tender Response. The supplier will be required to make suitable personnel available to NTL in order to resolve NTL's queries. Any clarification discussed at such clarification meetings will be agreed by NTL and the supplier and documented and submitted by the supplier through the message centre on Delta. The specific dates on which these visits can be made will be agreed with the suppliers via the Delta portal during or following the ITN stage. Stage 3 (optional): Following evaluation of the ITN, if required, a minimum of two (2) Tenderers with the highest scores from ITN stage may be invited to submit Best and Final Offers ('BAFO's). NTL strongly encourages all Tenderers to submit competitive tender submissions. Whilst NTL may request BAFOs, Tenderers should not rely on any potential subsequent opportunities for providing improved commercial offers. Further information on the tender process can be found in CFP ITP Part 1 - Instructions & ITN Part 1 - Instructions.

CPV: Building and facilities management services · Cleaning services · Grounds maintenance services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published

Lot #1Renewal 5 yrsPublished value£151,726,942

Contract period: 1 Oct 2027 – 30 Sept 2032 (5 yrs) · up to 30 Sept 2035 with extensionsValue: £151,726,942 exc. VAT · £182,072,330 inc. VAT

Delivery: North East, North West, Yorkshire & Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South West

Extensions: NTL reserves the right, during the term of the contract, to request additional services, works, or deliverables that are within the general scope of this procurement but not explicitly defined at the outset. Where such requirements arise, they shall be commissioned via the agreed contractual mechanisms (including the Change Control Procedure and/or relevant work orders), subject to the following principles: - Where applicable, pricing shall be derived from the pre‑agreed Schedule of Rates (SoR), ensuring a transparent, consistent and benchmarked approach to additional services. - Any services not explicitly covered by the SoR must be demonstrably aligned to the underlying cost structure, rates, overheads and profit percentages established within the contract pricing schedule. - The Contractor shall provide clear and auditable justification for all proposed pricing, including a breakdown linked to comparable items, labour rates, materials, and agreed mark‑ups. - Variations shall be subject to the formal Change Control Procedure and require prior written approval from NTL before commencement. Additional services (including minor works) shall be instructed in accordance with the Additional Works instruction process. The options, also include, without limitation, the potential inclusion of winterisation services. The winterisation requirement is included on an optional basis only. Tenderers may submit responses in respect of this requirement; however, NTL reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to amend, exclude or remove the winterisation requirement, in whole or in part, at any stage of the procurement process or during the contract term. NTL may exercise this right where it determines that responses received in relation to the winterisation requirement are unsatisfactory, do not represent value for money, or otherwise do not meet its requirements or objective · The Contract will be let for an initial term of five (5) years. Prior to the expiry of the initial term, NTL may, at its sole discretion, exercise one (1) extension option for a further period of three (3) years, giving a potential maximum Contract duration of eight (8) years. The decision to exercise the extension option will be taken before the end of the initial term and will be dependent on the Contractor's demonstrated performance over the initial term and NTL's ongoing service requirements. In particular, extension will be subject to: - The Contractor consistently meeting or exceeding the agreed KPIs and performance standards set out in the Contract, including service delivery, statutory compliance, asset reliability, and adherence to reporting and governance requirements. - Delivery of agreed efficiency, continuous improvement, and value for money outcomes over the initial contract term. - The Contractor demonstrating the ability to maintain safe, compliant, and resilient operations across the estate. - Continued alignment with NTL's operational and business needs for integrated Total Facilities Management services. Where exercised, the extension is intended to support service continuity, enable long term planning, and allow the realisation of investment led benefits and efficiencies over the life of the Contract. The Contract duration will therefore be structured as follows: Initial Term: 5 years Extension Option: 3 years Maximum Contract Duration: 8 years total

77314000 Grounds maintenance services 79993000 Building and facilities management services 90910000 Cleaning services

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 were scored

Quality: 45%Price: 45%Social value: 10%

Published sub-criteria (3)

Technical (Quality): 45%
Price: 45%
Social Value: 10%

Published award criteria (3)

Technical (Quality)
Price
Social Value

What this means for your bid

Price carries 45 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4.5 points. Quality carries 45 of 100: the paper moves it further than the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

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: Closed
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 31 Mar 2034
First published: 21 May 2025, 17:54 BST
Last source update: 22 Jun 2026, 14:01 BST
Award evaluation window: Submission end – 1 Mar 2027
FTS notice number: 2026/S 000-058540
Latest notice: Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV): Building and facilities management servicesCleaning servicesGrounds maintenance services
Delivery area: North East (UKC)North West (UKD)Yorkshire & Humber (UKE)East Midlands (UKF)West Midlands (UKG)East of England (UKH)London (UKI)South East (UKJ)
+1 more
South West (UKK)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-051c23 Find a Tender

How it runs

The Tender stages will be run as follows:

Stage 1:

All interested suppliers can apply to be considered for participation in this procurement exercise, through application via www.delta-esourcing.com ↗

Tenderbox Reference: WH84ASZ9H6

The Procurement Specific Questionnaire ('PSQ') will be evaluated in two (2) parts:

Part 1: Mandatory information to be provided by the suppliers, failure to do so and in an accurate manner may lead to exclusion from the procurement process.

Part 2: Questions relating to conditions of participation, including standard and technical questions

All suppliers that have passed the submission of mandatory information will then be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria provided within the ITP documentation.

The top 5 scoring suppliers for the technical questions and who pass all other conditions within the PSQ, including conditions of participation, will be shortlisted to participate in the Invitation to Negotiate ('ITN') stage.

Should there not be the maximum number of suppliers capable of meeting the required criteria the number of successful suppliers taken forward to ITN will be reduced accordingly.

In the instance where there is a tiebreak for any of the last successful positions, the number of successful suppliers would increase, and include any tied suppliers (set to two decimal places) as additional suppliers for the ITN. Therefore, the maximum number of successful suppliers made may increase where 2 or more suppliers have tied scores in the last successful position.

All other suppliers (and non-compliant parties) will be notified as unsuccessful from the process at this stage.

NTL reserves the right to not score any question response that had not been provided in line with the instructions provided in the ITP.

Stage 2:

Suppliers taken through from Stage 1 will be invited to submit their Tender Responses.

Tender Responses will have three (3) distinct elements:

Technical Quality with a weighting of 45%
Pricing with a weighting of 45%
Social Value with a weighting of 10%

NTL will undertake a comprehensive evaluation process to determine the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT).

Tender Responses will initially be checked for compliance, including that all required returnables for the response have been submitted. If NTL does not consider a Tender Response compliant, it reserves the right not to carry out any further evaluation and eliminate the supplier from the procurement.

During the ITN stage, suppliers will be invited to submit Interim Submissions prior to the submission of their Tender Responses.

Although Interim Submissions will not be formally scored or evaluated, they are intended to support the procurement process by enabling NTL to:

Verify that bidders' approaches are aligned with expectations
Ensure proposed solutions are viable
Identify potential risks at an early stage
Clarify aspects of submissions that are ambiguous or lack sufficient detail

The introduction of Interim Submissions is intended to promote continuous alignment between NTL and bidders, reduce risk and improve the overall quality of final tender submissions.

At any stage following submission of a Tender Response, NTL reserves the right (but is not obliged) to seek clarification on any aspect of a supplier's submission.

NTL may also require Negotiation Meetings in which the supplier may be required to present their Tender Response for the purposes verifying any aspect of that Tender Response. The supplier will be required to make suitable personnel available to NTL in order to resolve NTL's queries. Any clarification discussed at such clarification meetings will be agreed by NTL and the supplier and documented and submitted by the supplier through the message centre on Delta.

The specific dates on which these visits can be made will be agreed with the suppliers via the Delta portal during or following the ITN stage.

Stage 3 (optional):

Following evaluation of the ITN, if required, a minimum of two (2) Tenderers with the highest scores from ITN stage may be invited to submit Best and Final Offers ('BAFO's).

NTL strongly encourages all Tenderers to submit competitive tender submissions. Whilst NTL may request BAFOs, Tenderers should not rely on any potential subsequent opportunities for providing improved commercial offers.

Further information on the tender process can be found in CFP ITP Part 1 - Instructions & ITN Part 1 - Instructions.

How it was run

Official notice

Run through: Delta eSourcing · Who buys & how to bid on Delta

Public notice page · account needed to bidElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN

Access & registration note: Free Select account; no DUNS asked at signup

Requests to participate (first stage): 22 Jul 2026, 13:00 BST
Submission deadline: 22 Jul 2026, 13:00 BST
Submission channel: Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission: Allowed
Accepted languages: en

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

www.delta-esourcing.com ↗

Tenderbox Reference: WH84ASZ9H6

Timeline

21 May 2025 → 1 Oct 2027 · 7 dates

Planning notice published
21 May 2025, 17:54 BST
Market engagement364 days ago
23 Oct 2025, 23:59 BST
Northern Trains Limited (NTL) is preparing to procure a Total Facilities Management (TFM) contract and is seeking early market engagement with interested suppliers.
Through this procurement, in addition to engaging with Tier 1 suppliers, NTL is equally keen to engage with potential suppliers of all sizes, including SMEs. NTL are currently exploring the idea of a simple brokerage service to aid this aspiration which we will look for further feedback on in due course.
A virtual Pre Market Engagement session will take place on the 23rd of October 2025 at 10:00am via Microsoft Teams. This session will include a presentation from the Project Manager and Procurement Team, outlining the scope of the upcoming procurement and key requirements.
The session will provide insight into the following areas:
- Proposed Service Provisions
- Locations
- Reporting Requirements
- Procurement Timelines
NTL will also ask for an engagement from the market on the following topics:
- Potential inclusion of Additional Services (Minor Works & Winterisation services)
- Potential Lotting Structure
- Pricing Structure
- Key Performance Indicators
- Contract Term
- Commercial Terms
Following the session, attending suppliers will receive a short questionnaire to gather feedback on the proposed approach.
Following the event, NTL proposes to invite selected participants to provide further information by way of one-to-one meetings to be held in Manchester or on MS Teams in November 2025.
The purpose of these meetings is to allow NTL to gather further feedback on the proposed contract, commercial terms and the tender process, as well as discuss any key issues raised by participants.
Attendees may be invited to provide further information at NTL's sole discretion.
To express interest in attending the Pre-Market Engagement session, please email:
- Sarah Nixon ([email protected]) and
- Paul Schofield ([email protected])
Please include your organisation's name, contact details and the name of attendees. A calendar invitation with joining details will follow.
Suppliers should note that there is no obligation to take part in this preliminary market engagement exercise and that if they do not take part, it will not preclude them from the subsequent related procurement process. Engaging suppliers will not receive preferential treatment in any procurement tender process, and this is in no way an indication of the selection of any organisation or a guarantee of future work.
Next notice expected162 days ago
13 May 2026, 23:59 BST
Tender notice published123 days ago
22 Jun 2026, 14:01 BST
Submission deadline93 days ago
22 Jul 2026, 13:00 BST
Today
23 Oct 2026
Award decision expected byin 130 days
1 Mar 2027, 23:59 GMT
Contract startsin 343 days
1 Oct 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

6 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 21 May 2025

Pipeline notice published
21 May 2025, 17:54 BST
UK1
Preliminary market engagement notice published
10 Oct 2025, 11:50 BST
UK2
Tender notice published
22 Jun 2026, 14:01 BST
UK4
Published value published: £151,726,942
22 Jun 2026, 14:01 BST
Status changed to active
22 Jun 2026, 14:01 BST
Procurement method changed
22 Jun 2026, 14:01 BST

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

NORTHERN TRAINS LIMITED

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-COH: 03076444 · GB-PPON: PZCJ-2164-HJQZ George Stephenson House, York, Yorkshire & Humber, YO1 6JTContact email

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender22 Jun 2026, 14:01 BST
Preliminary market engagement notice planningPreliminary market engagement noticeUK2Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender10 Oct 2025, 11:50 BST
Pipeline notice planningPipeline noticeUK1Pipeline notice on Find a Tender21 May 2025, 17:54 BST