Official UK procurement notice
Automated Distribution and Manufacturing Centre (ADMC)
Authority: Ashfield District Council (Local council)·On behalf of: Nottinghamshire County Council
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionAutomated Distribution and Manufacturing Centre (ADMC)
Procurement Early Engagement Notice
Purpose
This notice is to make potential contractors aware that, via the Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) procurement team, Ashfield District Council (ADC) will commence a process to appoint a commercial operator for their Automated Distribution and Manufacturing Centre (ADMC).
The publication of this notice commences the preliminary market engagement stage of the procurement process. The procurement is expected to follow a Competitive Flexible Procedure, based on the Procurement Act 2023.
Background
The ADMC is a flagship project for Ashfield District Council. The ADMC will work with businesses to create and implement bespoke automation strategies and solutions that improve productivity and enable prosperity and growth.
The ADMC will be a 3,000m2 purpose built, multifunctional, automation centre. Its vision is based on four "pillars" of activity:
- Research and Development
- Prototyping and Proof of Principle
- Showcasing and Demonstration
- Skills and Training
The ADMC will be at the centre of a cluster of automation businesses, some of which will be located on the adjacent Ashfield Innovation and Technology Park that is also in development.
The ADMC building is expected to be completed by December 2027. More details can be found on the ADMC website at www.theadmc.co.uk ↗.
Proposed Governance and Operation
ADC confirmed its positioning regarding governance and operation of the ADMC in January 2025. It has resolved to carry out a public procurement procedure to appoint an external organisation to run the ADMC.
ADC believe that this contracted approach will allow the ADMC to be operated effectively and efficiently such that it achieves its twin goals of supporting the greater adoption of automation within local and regional businesses and achieving financial sustainability.
A previous procurement process to appoint an operator for the ADMC took place in late 2025. This process was ultimately unsuccessful in appointing an operator due to a combination of factors including feedback from potential bidders about the scope of the contract as well as subsidy and compliance issues.
ADC aims to have a commercial operator appointed in 2027.
Preliminary Market Engagement stage of the Procurement Process
The procurement is expected to follow a Competitive Flexible Procedure, following the Procurement Act 2023. This notice commences the procurement process via a preliminary market engagement stage.
The preliminary market engagement stage is intended to allow potential contractors to gain a more detailed understanding of the ADMC, its progress, and the procurement process being undertaken. It will also support NCC and ADC to develop the first stage tender by helping to:
- Develop the requirements and approach to the procurement.
- Design the conditions of participation and award criteria.
- Inform the scope of works being contracted and whether these works should be split into separate lots.
- Prepare the tender notice and associated tender documents.
- Identify likely contractual terms.
- Building capacity in relation to the contract being awarded.
NCC/ADC proposes to run initial group engagement events via Teams on two dates:
- Tuesday 10th November 10:00 - 11:00
- Thursday 12th November 10:00 - 11:00
Further events may be run before the end of November 2026 as demand requires.
NCC/ADC will be having individual discussions with potential contractors. Contractors will be invited to express an interest in being part of those discussions following the group engagement events.
All information and material collected from these pre-market engagement activities will be documented and form part of the subsequent tender pack, respecting commercial confidentiality.
Contact
To express interest in being part of the Preliminary Market Engagement stage of this
procurement process and to be sent the ADMC - Intent to Go to Market - Power Point
Information Pack, please contact Jamie Burton - jamie.burton2@nottscc.gov.uk
Please feel free to submit any clarification questions to Jamie Burton -
jamie.burton2@nottscc.gov.uk NCC/ADC will respond to these promptly.
CPV: Business development consultancy services · Commercial property management services · Research and development services and related consultancy services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Ashfield District Council buys Property management services of real estate on a fee or contract basis (CPV 7033), and who usually turns up
Ashfield District Council’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: Property management services of real estate on a fee or contract basis (CPV 7033) →
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.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in East Midlands.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
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.
Half of these awards have an award date within 173 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.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
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.
1 bid24%
2–330%
4–632%
7+14%
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 estimate33% / 43%
Within ±2%33% / 39%
Above estimate33% / 18%
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 7033Published estimate£1.0m
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 106 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid24%
2–330%
4–632%
7+14%
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
- 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
- 25 Sept 2026, 11:38 BST
- Last source update
- 5 Oct 2026, 14:48 BST
- Authority reference
DN830884- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-093898- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077a58Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
25 Sept 2026 → 31 Mar 2027 · 4 dates- Planning notice published32 days ago25 Sept 2026, 11:38 BST
- Latest notice published22 days ago5 Oct 2026, 14:48 BST
- Today28 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 9 days6 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
Automated Distribution and Manufacturing Centre (ADMC)
Procurement Early Engagement Notice
Purpose
This notice is to make potential contractors aware that, via the Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) procurement team, Ashfield District Council (ADC) will commence a process to appoint a commercial operator for their Automated Distribution and Manufacturing Centre (ADMC).
The publication of this notice commences the preliminary market engagement stage of the procurement process. The procurement is expected to follow a Competitive Flexible Procedure, based on the Procurement Act 2023.
Background
The ADMC is a flagship project for Ashfield District Council. The ADMC will work with businesses to create and implement bespoke automation strategies and solutions that improve productivity and enable prosperity and growth.
The ADMC will be a 3,000m2 purpose built, multifunctional, automation centre. Its vision is based on four "pillars" of activity:
- Research and Development
- Prototyping and Proof of Principle
- Showcasing and Demonstration
- Skills and Training
The ADMC will be at the centre of a cluster of automation businesses, some of which will be located on the adjacent Ashfield Innovation and Technology Park that is also in development.
The ADMC building is expected to be completed by December 2027. More details can be found on the ADMC website at www.theadmc.co.uk ↗.
Proposed Governance and Operation
ADC confirmed its positioning regarding governance and operation of the ADMC in January 2025. It has resolved to carry out a public procurement procedure to appoint an external organisation to run the ADMC.
ADC believe that this contracted approach will allow the ADMC to be operated effectively and efficiently such that it achieves its twin goals of supporting the greater adoption of automation within local and regional businesses and achieving financial sustainability.
A previous procurement process to appoint an operator for the ADMC took place in late 2025. This process was ultimately unsuccessful in appointing an operator due to a combination of factors including feedback from potential bidders about the scope of the contract as well as subsidy and compliance issues.
ADC aims to have a commercial operator appointed in 2027.
Preliminary Market Engagement stage of the Procurement Process
The procurement is expected to follow a Competitive Flexible Procedure, following the Procurement Act 2023. This notice commences the procurement process via a preliminary market engagement stage.
The preliminary market engagement stage is intended to allow potential contractors to gain a more detailed understanding of the ADMC, its progress, and the procurement process being undertaken. It will also support NCC and ADC to develop the first stage tender by helping to:
- Develop the requirements and approach to the procurement.
- Design the conditions of participation and award criteria.
- Inform the scope of works being contracted and whether these works should be split into separate lots.
- Prepare the tender notice and associated tender documents.
- Identify likely contractual terms.
- Building capacity in relation to the contract being awarded.
NCC/ADC proposes to run initial group engagement events via Teams on two dates:
- Tuesday 10th November 10:00 - 11:00
- Thursday 12th November 10:00 - 11:00
Further events may be run before the end of November 2026 as demand requires.
NCC/ADC will be having individual discussions with potential contractors. Contractors will be invited to express an interest in being part of those discussions following the group engagement events.
All information and material collected from these pre-market engagement activities will be documented and form part of the subsequent tender pack, respecting commercial confidentiality.
Contact
To express interest in being part of the Preliminary Market Engagement stage of this
procurement process and to be sent the ADMC - Intent to Go to Market - Power Point
Information Pack, please contact Jamie Burton - jamie.burton2@nottscc.gov.uk
Please feel free to submit any clarification questions to Jamie Burton -
jamie.burton2@nottscc.gov.uk NCC/ADC will respond to these promptly.
- Contract startsin 153 days31 Mar 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 25 Sept 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published25 Sept 2026, 11:38 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published5 Oct 2026, 14:48 BSTUK2
Published amendments (1)
End of Preliminary Engagement period changed from the 16th November to the 6th November 2026
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
2 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- Nottinghamshire County CouncilProcess contact pointProcuring entityProvides Procurement Services
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender