Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 12 Aug 2026, 10:06 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Variety Trials for AHDB's Recommended List

Authority: AHDB

ServicesAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Planned pipeline value£0pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 13 Jan 2027from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 1 yrends 14 Jun 2028 · up to 14 Jun 2032 with extensions · starts 15 Jun 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

AHDB is considering its future procurement approach for the Recommended Lists Variety Trials programme and is undertaking preliminary market engagement with existing and potential suppliers in relation to any future procurement of these services.

The purpose of this engagement is to gather feedback to better understand market capability, commercial considerations, delivery approaches and opportunities to improve future procurement and contract management arrangements. Please note that this questionnaire is for market research purposes only. Responses will not be used to evaluate future tenders and do not commit AHDB to any particular procurement approach.

Please email [email protected] to receive the questionnaire.

CPV: Agricultural services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 1 yrSMEVCSE
Contract period: 15 Jun 2027 – 14 Jun 2028 (1 yr) · up to 14 Jun 2032 with extensions
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions: Extension options published

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

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

How AHDB buys Agricultural services (CPV 7710), and who usually turns up

AHDB’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: Agricultural services (CPV 7710) →

1

How the contest usually goes

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

Question for the bid
This buyerAHDB · division 77
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: 7 of 10 known-size awards · market: CPV 7710 · UK-wide, n=23
70%78%

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.

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

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no winner locations published · market: CPV 7710 · UK-wide, n=14
—93%

No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address 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: division 77 · UK-wide, n=138
—41 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 41 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: exactly 10 of 14 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 7710 · UK-wide, n=30
71%47%

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 buyer24 lots with bid counts · all categories
8% had one bid
The market12 lots with bid counts · CPV 7710 · UK-wide
17% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid8% / 17%
Buyer: 2 of 24 lots with published bid counts. Market: 2 of 12 lots with published bid counts.
2–342% / 25%
Buyer: 10 of 24 lots with published bid counts. Market: 3 of 12 lots with published bid counts.
4–625% / 25%
Buyer: 6 of 24 lots with published bid counts. Market: 3 of 12 lots with published bid counts.
7+25% / 33%
Buyer: 6 of 24 lots with published bid counts. Market: 4 of 12 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 buyer10 lots with estimate and award · all categories
40% below estimate
The market303 lots with estimate and award · division 77 · UK-wide
39% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate40% / 39%
Buyer: 4 of 10 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 117 of 303 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%50% / 34%
Buyer: 5 of 10 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 103 of 303 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate10% / 27%
Buyer: 1 of 10 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 83 of 303 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 771012 monthsSME suitableNo real estimate
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 12 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet17% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 12 similar lots
1 bid17%
2 of 12 similar past lots received 1 bid (17%).
2–325%
3 of 12 similar past lots received 2–3 (25%).
4–625%
3 of 12 similar past lots received 4–6 (25%).
7+33%
4 of 12 similar past lots received 7+ (33%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 4 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.

—No real estimate
The buyer published £0 as the estimate (a placeholder, not the contract’s value), so there is nothing to forecast against.

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.

SupplierThis buyer’s earlier contractLotAward valueWhy listed
NiabLive contractRecommended List Variety Trialsruns to Nov 2027—£379kMatched as the earlier contract
RSK ADAS LimitedLive contractRecommended List Variety Trialsruns to Nov 2027—£41kMatched as the earlier contract

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.

What this replaces
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

74% title match.

A past supplier may not bid again.

The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (74% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid

Recommended List Variety Trials — held by Niab and RSK ADAS Limited; the published contract ends 1 Nov 2027.

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
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
12 Aug 2026, 10:06 BST
Last source update
12 Aug 2026, 10:06 BST
Authority reference
2026-813
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-076542
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Agricultural services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e20f Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

12 Aug 2026 → 15 Jun 2027 · 4 dates
  1. Planning notice published74 days ago
    12 Aug 2026, 10:06 BST
  2. Market engagement41 days ago
    14 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST

    Interested suppliers are invited to request a copy of the questionnaire by emailing [email protected].

    AHDB may also issue the questionnaire directly to suppliers known to operate within this market. However, any interested supplier that has not received a copy may request one using the email address above.

    Completed questionnaires should be returned to [email protected] no later than 12 noon on 14 September 2026.

    Please quote "RL Pre-Engagement Response" in the email subject line.

  3. Today
    25 Oct 2026
  4. Tender notice expectedin 80 days
    13 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
  5. Contract startsin 232 days
    15 Jun 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    12 Aug 2026, 10:06 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

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PBHX-8363-MBBV Middlemarch Business Park, Siskin Parkway East, Coventry, West Midlands, CV3 4PEContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure