Official UK procurement notice
CM70 - Trinity House Hydrographic and Bathymetric-Topographic Surveys
Authority: Corporation of Trinity House (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionTrinity House has a requirement to conduct a number of Hydrographic and Bathymetric/Topographic surveys at regular intervals. The purpose of the upcoming tender is to put in place a framework lasting a maximum of four years consisting of innovative survey companies to carry out surveys around the coasts of England and Wales.
Hydrographic surveys required: Hydrographic surveys to be completed within pre-set boundaries. A potential need for these boundaries to be expanded due to significant changes whilst surveying will also need to be taken into consideration. Trinity House will require the entire data set to be submitted as we share this with the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office. Ideally the survey data will be collected in Caris. Alongside the dataset, we require .csar .hob files and a detailed Report of Survey.
Survey Quality: TH currently collect data to IHO Order 2 as a minimum, however tenders should aim to achieve a better standard. Surveys should capture 100% bathymetric coverage and should be multibeam bathymetry to IHO Order 1a, with our shallow water surveys being surveyed to IHO Order 1b. The MCA have a useful link to help show what is involved in order to collect the data to those standards: UK Civil Hydrography Programme (CHP) - GOV.UK. The scope will also include the ad-hoc survey of new wrecks or dangers to navigation.
Bathymetric - Topographic surveys required: Trinity House holds the operation and maintenance responsibility for over 60 lighthouses around England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar. These critical aids-to-navigation include several rock tower lighthouses that require regular modernisation and ongoing maintenance. To support this work, it is important to have accurate bathymetric and topographic surveys of the surrounding area(s). Topographic surveys are required to capture levels within the intertidal zone and areas that are inaccessible for bathymetric techniques.
Survey Quality: Acquired data must comply with the latest edition of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) s-44 special order, standard. This standard specifies total horizontal uncertainty (THU) horizontal accuracy of 2m and total vertical uncertainty (TVU) of 0.25 m plus 0.0075% of water depth. 100% coverage of the survey areas is required.
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at:
trinityhouse.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-LONDON… ↗
To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
CPV: Bathymetric surveys services · Surveying, hydrographic, oceanographic and hydrological instruments and appliances · Topographical services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 2 yrs · up to 3 yrs 11 mo from 1 Feb 2027
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat 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).
- “CM70 - Trinity House Hydrographic and Bathymetric-Topographic Surveys” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Corporation of Trinity House buys Engineering-related scientific and technical services (CPV 7135), and who usually turns up
Corporation of Trinity House has little published record in this market. Compared with other frameworks and DPS only. Whole-market view: Engineering-related scientific and technical services (CPV 7135) →
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.
Across this market, small firms won 38% of awards with a known supplier size.
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.
Across this market, 29% of winners were registered in the delivery region.
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 83 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.
Across this market, at least 9% of awarded procurements had no recorded rival.
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 bid2%
2–313%
4–628%
7+57%
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.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS: the price is set later, on each call-off.
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 7135Published estimate£375k
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 61 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid2%
2–313%
4–628%
7+57%
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G J BINDING AND SONSEarlier contract | Hydrographic Surveysended Jul 2026 | — | £48k | Matched as the earlier contract |
| Castle Surveys LimitedEarlier contract | STA1529 Bathymetric and Topographic Survey of Wolf Rock Lighthouseended Aug 2026 | — | £30k | Matched 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.
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
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 25 Aug 2026, 13:59 BST
- Last source update
- 25 Aug 2026, 13:59 BST
- Authority reference
CM70- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-080867- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06eb9bFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
25 Aug 2026 → 1 Feb 2027 · 3 dates- Planning notice published64 days ago25 Aug 2026, 13:59 BST
- Today28 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 2 days30 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT
The intention of this notice is for interested parties to submit their details to Trinity House to be invited to the procurement process and further information which may become available. Please can interested suppliers therefore send their email addresses to etender@trinityhouse.co.uk to be added to a register of interested suppliers.
- Contract startsin 95 days1 Feb 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published25 Aug 2026, 13:59 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