Official UK procurement notice
Vehicle Hire - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME)
Authority: Portsmouth City Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionPortsmouth City Council (the "Council") is undertaking Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) in accordance with section 16 of the Procurement Act 2023 to inform a future competitive procurement for a managed vehicle hire solution predominantly for cars, MPVs, vans and minibuses to support Council operations across service areas.
The PME exercise is intended to refine the procurement approach, service specification, performance requirements, contract duration and commercial strategy ahead of issuing a Tender Notice.
The Council is exploring the market for a managed vehicle hire solution to support Council operations across multiple service areas.
The anticipated scope includes (but is not limited to):
- Cars (small/medium/large), with a strong preference for hybrid models
- MPVs
- Vans (small/medium/large)
- Minibuses (D1 and non D1 options)
The service is expected to include booking and customer support arrangements (telephone, website and mobile application), delivery/collection (where applicable), availability management, breakdown/contingency arrangements, incident/accident/claims processes, performance reporting, and account management/governance.
The Council's current requirements include (indicatively):
- A small number of hybrid hire vehicles to be kept permanently on site and capable of being dispatched within 30 minutes of any hire booking.
- For home-delivery bookings, delivery must be to addresses within the Council's boundaries.
- For all standard vehicle hires, delivery to the requested location must be completed within four working hours of the booking request.
- Delivery across PO1 to PO17 postcode areas is expected to be included in the cost of hire (no additional charges).
- The Council may also require delivery outside PO1 to PO17 up to a radius of 40 miles from the Council's boundaries (additional delivery costs to be evaluated as part of the future tender).
Following completion of this PME process, the Council is currently targeting commencement of a formal procurement using the Open Procedure, via issue of a Tender Notice on 21 May 2026.
Indicative procurement timetable (subject to change)
- Tender Notice published / documents available: 21 May 2026
- Clarification deadline: 9 June 2026, 23:59
- Tender return deadline: 23 June 2026, 12:00
- Evaluation completed by: 14 July 2026, 12:00
- Contract Award Notification: 23 July 2026
- Standstill period: 23 July - 5 August 2026
- Target service commencement: 1 October 2026
Participation is not a condition for participation in any subsequent procurement and will not confer any advantage or disadvantage.
The Council will take appropriate steps to ensure that competition is not distorted by this engagement.
For potential bidders who are not able to attend the teams meeting a copy of the presentation and recording will be provided in the document set of the future Tender process.
Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)
As part of the wider Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), the Council is required to engage with neighbouring authorities to explore future requirements and needs, and to consider alignment of governance arrangements.
The UK Government has confirmed its decision regarding local government reorganisation across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Under the confirmed proposals, Portsmouth City Council will become part of a new larger unitary authority covering the areas of Gosport, Fareham and Havant and including Newlands, Horndean, Clanfield and Rowlands Castle.
The new larger unitary authority is set to formally come into existence on 1 April 2028. Portsmouth City Council as it currently exists will be legally dissolved on 31 March 2028.
The new authority's service delivery model is not yet finalised, but it is expected that local authority service responsibilities will merge within the new boundary. This could mean that the scope, demand and operational requirements for vehicle hire services may change over time depending on the governance and operating arrangements adopted.
The opportunity value is expected to increase materially due to the wider geographic area and the potential integration of requirements from the merging authorities. The Council reserves the right to modify the contract under Schedule 8 of the Procurement Act 2023 should the confirmed LGR arrangements require changes to scope, value and/or delivery structure.
The estimated 5-year total contract value (including any extension options) is £950,000 excluding VAT; however, this may change if LGR implementation requires changes to the scope and/or delivery structure. This figure is based on Portsmouth's current requirements only.
The future contract is expected to include assignment/novation provisions. These provisions are likely to allow the Council to transfer the contract to the new larger unitary authority (or other successor contracting authority), where required by LGR.
For further details in respect of LGR, please see:
CPV: Estate and saloon cars · Minibuses · Motor vehicles for the transport of fewer than 10 persons · Vans
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Portsmouth City Council buys Passenger cars (CPV 3411), and who usually turns up
Portsmouth City Council’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: Passenger cars (CPV 3411) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
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.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside South East England.
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.
Half of these awards were announced within 46 days of the bid deadline.
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.
Awards are recorded, but published direct routes and bid counts do not establish this buyer’s share.
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.
1 bid24% / 15%
2–343% / 31%
4–629% / 46%
7+5% / 8%
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.
Below estimate31% / 36%
Within ±2%69% / 36%
Above estimate0% / 29%
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.
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 3411Published estimate£950k
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 38 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid32%
2–337%
4–616%
7+16%
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.
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.
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.
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
- Goods
- 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
- 17 Apr 2026, 17:54 BST
- Last source update
- 17 Apr 2026, 17:54 BST
- Authority reference
P00005226- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-035404- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0685c7Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
17 Apr 2026 → 1 Oct 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published188 days ago17 Apr 2026, 17:54 BST
- Market engagement170 days ago5 May 2026, 23:59 BST
The Council's objective is to explore the market to understand available capacity, capability, and potential delivery models. The Council also seeks to refine the service specification to ensure an effective balance between operational requirements, sustainability goals, safety standards, and best value.
Feedback is sought on (indicatively):
- Payment options / commercial models
- Digitalised booking process (telephone/website/app)
- Fuel management solution
- Vehicle telematics
- Innovative solutions to strengthen alternative fuel vehicle provision
- Draft KPIs / service levels (including proportionality and achievability)
- Contract length (including potential benefits/risks of longer initial terms)
- Indicative quality/price evaluation approach and weightings
- Pricing evaluation strategy (at a high level)
- Mobilisation period
The Council intends to engage the market through:
- Issue of a PME pack via In-tend
- A PME briefing meeting (online via Microsoft Teams)
- A structured Request for Information (RFI) questionnaire
- Potential follow-up correspondence via In-tend and/or brief online meetings with respondents (if required)
Interested organisations can attend the briefing meeting on 24th April at 11am and should respond by completing the Council's RFI questionnaire and submitting it via In-tend by the stated deadline. Clarification questions should be submitted via In-tend.
The timetable for the PME is
- PME Notice issued: 17 April 2026
- PME pack issued on In-tend: 17 April 2026
- PME briefing meeting (Teams): 24 April 2026, 11:00
- RFI response deadline: 5 May 2026, 14:00
Additional information and any PME documents will be made available via the Council's e-sourcing portal (In-tend). Interested organisations must register on the portal to access the PME pack and submit responses. Communication and clarifications will be conducted via In-tend.
Taking part in this PME (and anything you submit) will not be used to assess bidders in any later tender and will not give any organisation an advantage or disadvantage in any future procurement.
- Tender notice expected154 days ago21 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts22 days ago1 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published17 Apr 2026, 17:54 BSTUK2
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
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender