Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 1 Sept 2026, 09:02 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Travel Management, Meetings & Events Services

Authority: Southern Universities Management Services (SUMS) (Public body)

Framework agreementServicesAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Planned pipeline value£800,000,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 1 Feb 2027from the planned procurement notice
Framework period 2 yrsends 29 Mar 2030 · up to 31 Mar 2032 with extensions · starts 3 Apr 2028

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The purpose of this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise is to engage with the market to understand current supplier capability, market developments and potential approaches to the delivery of travel management services. SUPC is seeking to gather information to help inform the scope, lotting structure, commercial model and service requirements of the proposed framework, including the potential provision of business travel, student travel, meetings and events, and associated services. The proposed framework will provide higher and further education institutions and other public sector organisations with access to a range of travel management services. The final scope and lotting structure will be informed by member requirements, supplier engagement and wider market intelligence. Information gathered through this exercise will help SUPC to develop the procurement strategy and specification. The PME is not a tender and does not constitute a commitment by SUPC to proceed with any particular approach or award a contract. The resulting framework agreement would be available to all members of the regional consortia that comprise UKUPC (APUC, LUPC, NEUPC, NWUPC, SUPC, TEC and TUCO). Members span a range of public sector organisations and include higher education institutions, schools and colleges, government departments, local authorities, charitable organisations, housing associations, NHS trusts, and others.

CPV: Business travel services · Event services · Hotel meeting and conference services · Travel agency and similar services · Travel management services · Travel services

How this framework works

From the published notice
Framework period
2 yrs · up to 4 yrs from 3 Apr 2028

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 2 yrsSMEVCSE
Contract period: 3 Apr 2028 – 29 Mar 2030 (2 yrs) · up to 31 Mar 2032 with extensions
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions: Extension options published

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
What this means for your bid
  • “Travel Management, Meetings & Events Services” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.

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

How Southern Universities Management Services (SUMS) buys Travel agency and similar services (CPV 6351), and who usually turns up

Southern Universities Management Services (SUMS) has little published record in this market. Compared with other frameworks and DPS only. Whole-market view: Travel agency and similar services (CPV 6351) →

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: no supplier sizes published · market: division 63 · UK-wide, n=16
—69%

Across this market, small firms won 69% of awards with a known supplier size.

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.

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

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no winner locations published · market: CPV 6351 · UK-wide, n=6
—33%

Across this market, 33% of winners were registered in the delivery region.

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 6351 · UK-wide, n=6
—57 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 57 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.

The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.

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

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no awards on record · market: CPV 6351 · UK-wide, n=7
—14%

Across this market, at least 14% of awarded procurements had no recorded rival.

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 buyerNo bid counts published
The market10 lots with bid counts · CPV 6351 · UK-wide
10% had one bid
Market · select a colour for counts
1 bid10%
Market: 1 of 10 lots with published bid counts.
2–330%
Market: 3 of 10 lots with published bid counts.
4–630%
Market: 3 of 10 lots with published bid counts.
7+30%
Market: 3 of 10 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.

On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

Not comparable on a framework or DPS: the price is set later, on each call-off.

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 635124 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£800m
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 10 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet10% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 10 similar lots
1 bid10%
1 of 10 similar past lots received 1 bid (10%).
2–330%
3 of 10 similar past lots received 2–3 (30%).
4–630%
3 of 10 similar past lots received 4–6 (30%).
7+30%
3 of 10 similar past lots received 7+ (30%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 4.5 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.

—Priced at call-off
On a framework or DPS the price is agreed on each call-off, so there is no award price to forecast here: the published figure is a ceiling.

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
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Framework agreement
Who may use this agreement
Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
1 Sept 2026, 09:02 BST
Last source update
1 Sept 2026, 09:02 BST
Authority reference
PFB4070 SU
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-082440
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Business travel servicesEvent servicesHotel meeting and conference servicesTravel agency and similar servicesTravel management servicesTravel services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ef24 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Appointment period ends
—

Timeline

1 Sept 2026 → 3 Apr 2028 · 4 dates
  1. Planning notice published53 days ago
    1 Sept 2026, 09:02 BST
  2. Today
    24 Oct 2026
  3. Market engagementin 28 days
    20 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT

    Suppliers are invited to access the PME via our tendering portal, Mercell: uk.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_… ↗ On the portal you will find: 1. PME overview document - which includes a link to the survey 2. Draft specification - which suppliers are invited to review. Suppliers are welcome to annotate the draft specification and return it to SUPC via the Mercell messaging function, and may also use the messaging function to raise any clarification queries. Suppliers are invited to complete the market engagement survey via Microsoft Forms to provide feedback on the proposed scope, potential service requirements, commercial models and pricing approaches. You can find the survey here: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/0X0Wz7HsLe ↗ The PME survey will open on Tuesday 1 September and remain open for four weeks, closing on Friday 25 September. We would also welcome any feedback on the draft specification by this date. The wider PME process will remain open until Friday 20 November to allow time for SUPC to review responses, hold any follow-up discussions with suppliers and carry out any further engagement activity required.

  4. Tender notice expectedin 101 days
    1 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT
  5. Contract starts
    3 Apr 2028

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    1 Sept 2026, 09:02 BST
    UK2

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

Southern Universities Management Services (SUMS)

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PZZN-4928-CWMD Reading Enterprise Centre, The University of Reading, Whiteknights Road, Earley Gate, Reading, South East, RG6 6BUContact name, email, phone

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure