Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 16 Oct 2026, 19:03 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Vacuum Pump Tritium Testing

Authority: UK Atomic Energy Authority (Central government)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Sectors: Industrial machinery (42)Architecture & Engineering (71) Delivery: Delivery location not published
Published estimate£400,000£480,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 16 Nov 202612:00 GMT · 30d 7h left
Clarification cut-off 16 Nov 202612:00 GMT · questions to the authority
Contract term 4 moends 30 Apr 2027 · starts 21 Dec 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Authority wishes to commission an organisation to deliver to design, manufacture, commission, and operate a tritium-compatible test rig that is representative of the operating conditions of the Vacuum and Impurity Treatment System (VAC-ITS) at the Contractor’s licensed facility, and to perform post-operation examination of wetted materials, with particular focus on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

CPV: Integrated engineering services · Plant engineering design services · Pumps

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1 4 moSMEPublished value£400,000
Contract period: 21 Dec 2026 – 30 Apr 2027 (4 mo)Value: £400,000 exc. VAT · £480,000 inc. VAT
Eligibility: SME eligibleTurnover guideline: ~£800,000/yr≈ 2× annual value

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
How bids are scored
Quality: 60%Price: 40%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Quality: Please see documents
  • Price: Please see documents

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
  • Turnover usually expected at this size: about £800,000 (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 UK Atomic Energy Authority buys Pumps and compressors (CPV 4212), and who usually turns up

UK Atomic Energy Authority’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: Pumps and compressors (CPV 4212) →

1

How the contest usually goes

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

Question for the bid
This buyerUK Atomic Energy Authority · division 42
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: 1 of 4 known-size awards · market: CPV 4212 · South East England (authority’s region), n=5
1 of 480%

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.

Here, local means registered in South East England (authority’s region).

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

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 0 of 7 known-location awards · market: CPV 4212 · South East England (authority’s region), n=12
0%17%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside South East England.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 5 decided notices · market: division 42 · South East England (authority’s region), n=17
17 days26 days

Half of these awards were announced within 17 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 11 of 16 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 4212 · South East England (authority’s region), n=12
69%67%

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 buyer5 lots with bid counts · broad CPV 42
20% had one bid
The market7 lots with bid counts · CPV 4212 · UK-wide
43% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid20% / 43%
Buyer: 1 of 5 lots with published bid counts. Market: 3 of 7 lots with published bid counts.
2–360% / 43%
Buyer: 3 of 5 lots with published bid counts. Market: 3 of 7 lots with published bid counts.
4–620% / 14%
Buyer: 1 of 5 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 7 lots with published bid counts.
7+0% / 0%
Buyer: 0 of 5 lots with published bid counts. Market: 0 of 7 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 buyer6 lots with estimate and award · broad CPV 42
50% below estimate
The market21 lots with estimate and award · division 42 · South East England (authority’s region)
48% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate50% / 48%
Buyer: 3 of 6 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 10 of 21 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%50% / 19%
Buyer: 3 of 6 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 4 of 21 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate0% / 33%
Buyer: 0 of 6 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 7 of 21 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 42124 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£400k
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.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

2expected bids18% single-bid risk
forecast from 10 past contests
Forecast chances for this lot
1 bid18%
Chance this lot gets 1 bid: 18%. This is a forecast.
2–363%
Chance this lot gets 2–3: 63%. This is a forecast.
4–615%
Chance this lot gets 4–6: 15%. This is a forecast.
7+4%
Chance this lot gets 7+: 4%. This is a forecast.
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.

Based on 6 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.

£400kLevel with estimate
6 comparable awards
Forecast compared with the buyer’s estimate
Middle 50%£358k–£400k
Half of likely prices fall between £358,301 and £400,000.
Estimate£400k
The buyer published an estimate of £400,000 for this lot.
A 43% chance the award lands exactly on the estimate.

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.

SupplierWon in this categoryLive contractsAward vs estimate
1 panel places
£161k2 awards in 36m · last 2 months agoNone on fileno comparable pairs
£311k1 awards in 36m · last 6 months agoNone on file6% below n=2
1 panel places
£517k5 awards in 36m · last 9 months agoNone on file23% below n=2
£92k5 awards in 36m · last 8 months agoNone on fileno comparable pairs
£20k1 awards in 36m · last 12 months agoNone on fileno comparable pairs
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 match score 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
Open 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
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
16 Oct 2026, 19:03 BST
Last source update
16 Oct 2026, 19:03 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 2 Dec 2026
Authority reference
T044MN26
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-098223
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Integrated engineering servicesPlant engineering design servicesPumps
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078a2f Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Submit via EU-Supply (CTM)
Submission portal named on this notice: EU-Supply (CTM) · Who buys & how to bid on EU-Supply
Public notice page · account needed to bidElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · 5–10 minutes
Requests to participate (first stage)
—
Tender submission deadline
16 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
16 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Published estimate £400,000 excludes VAT (£480,000 including VAT).

Timeline

16 Oct 2026 → 21 Dec 2026 · 5 dates
  1. Tender notice publishedearlier today
    16 Oct 2026, 19:03 BST
  2. Today
    17 Oct 2026
  3. Clarification questions byin 30 days
    16 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
  4. Submission deadlinein 30 days
    16 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
  5. Award decision expected byin 47 days
    2 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
  6. Contract startsin 65 days
    21 Dec 2026

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    16 Oct 2026, 19:03 BST
    UK4

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

UK Atomic Energy Authority

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PLJV-1169-JTDD Culham Science Centre, Oxfordshire, South East, OX14 3DBContact name, email, phone

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender