Official UK procurement notice
University of Chichester Graduation Ceremonies - Academic Robing and Photography
Authority: University of Chichester (Education)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe University of Chichester is seeking a suitably experienced and skilled partner to work with on our graduation ceremonies.
We want a provider that feels like an extension of our team, with the ability to achieve a smooth process for both our university events team and our students in the run up to and on the day of the events. Someone who offers robing and photography for the day as well as tickets for the graduands and guests for the event.
We are looking for a partner who gives us clear communication on the specifications requested and deadlines in good time. This partner must have good people relationship skills as well as strong experience, skills and knowledge in this field.
Overall, our aim is to give our students the best day and experience possible, so that all they need to worry about is what to wear or how best to celebrate!
Currently, our graduation ceremonies take place twice a year, the first larger ceremonies focus predominately on our undergraduate programmes with the slightly smaller occasions later in the academic year for our postgraduate and non-traditional course routes.
With the undergraduate currently taking place in September, however from 2027 onwards, these will be brought forward to July. Our postgraduate ceremonies will be in March.
Our ceremonies are held at Chichester Cathedral where we have around 130 graduands per ceremony, with anywhere from 4-12 ceremonies at each event.
The 3 key requirements are academic dress, photography, and ticketing. Graduand dress is black robes with a blue and gold hood, Staff to wear their own institutional robes, and senior
team to wear high-quality blue jacquard fabric with gold detailing. Photography requires studios set up on location and photos of graduands receiving their awards.
We require the supplier to undertake ticketing on our behalf and work with us to manage this.
CPV: Special clothing · Tailoring services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedPublished value£120,000
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 (6)
- Coherence and clarity to the University's requirement: 30%
- Organisational experience and capability: 17.5%
- Added Value: 2.5%
- Presentation/ Showcase: 15%
- Financials: 25%
- Compliance with the Social Value Model: 10%
Published award criteria (6)
- Financials
- Coherence and clarity to the University's requirement: made up of: - Robes - 12.5 - Photography - 5 - Ticketing - 12.5
- Organisational experience and capability: Made up of: Workflows, flexibility and communication - 7.5 Industry knowledge, Skills, & Prior Experience - 5 Data Protection - 2.5 Event Staffing - 2.5 Provision of relevant contract examples - pass/ fail
- Added Value
- Compliance with the Social Value Model: Covers areas of: Tackling economic inequality Climate Change Equal Opportunity Wellbeing
- Presentation/ Showcase: Opportunity to expand upon their bid and show offering. Only the top 2-5 bids will be selected to attend the presentation/ showcase.
- Price carries 25 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not 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
- Below threshold - open competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 26 Feb 2025, 13:57 GMT
- Last source update
- 14 Jul 2025, 12:09 BST
- Authority reference
TND-0001075- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-007291- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04e81bFind a Tender
- Reserved participation area
- K02000001
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 28 Mar 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 21 Mar 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
The tender document and any supporting documents should be submitted to [email protected]. Full details are available at help.chi.ac.uk/tenders ↗
Timeline
26 Feb 2025 → 14 Jul 2025 · 5 dates- Tender notice published26 Feb 2025, 13:57 GMT
- Clarification questions by21 Mar 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadline28 Mar 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Contract starts1 May 2025, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published14 Jul 2025, 12:09 BST
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 26 Feb 2025- Tender notice published26 Feb 2025, 13:57 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published28 Apr 2025, 10:04 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete28 Apr 2025, 10:04 BST
- Contract signature expected5 May 2025, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published14 Jul 2025, 12:09 BSTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| WM. NORTHAM & COMPANY LIMITED, William Northam & Company LtdSMEjoint award5 May 2025 – 4 May 2030 | £120,000 inc. VAT | 17 Apr 2025 | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 1 · WM. NORTHAM & COMPANY LIMITED, William Northam & Company LtdSME
- Signed
- 28 May 2025
- Value
- £120,000 inc. VAT
- Period
- 28 May 2025 – 28 Apr 2030
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2final-stage tenders | 2 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice- WM. NORTHAM & COMPANY LIMITEDAwarded supplier
- William Northam & Company LtdAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications This document describes the requirement and provides a standard format for responses. All details for contacting the university and for submission are contained within this document. The document and any subsequently published Q&A will be available at https://help.chi.ac.uk/tende…
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender