Official UK procurement notice
Operator for Kirkleatham Walled Garden Catering and Events Facility
Authority: Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Council is looking to appoint one organisation for the operation, management and commercial development of the Kirkleatham Walled Garden facility, including visitor attraction activities, admissions, catering, retail, weddings, events and venue hire.
This is a concession contract with an initial duration of 5 years plus an optional 5 year extension available.
- Not divided into lots: The services comprise an integrated concession involving operation of the visitor attraction, admissions, catering, retail, weddings, events and venue hire. Splitting into lots could undermine the commercial viability of the concession model.
- How the procedure runs: The Contracting Authority intends to follow the process set out below in this Procurement : The Authority will operate a two-stage process comprising: - Stage 1 - Invitation to Tender and Tender Evaluation; and - Stage 2 - Preferred Bidder Appointment and Negotiation. The Contracting Authority reserves the right to vary the procedure and timeframes of the Procurement as set out in this ITT. Reasons for this may include, but are not limited to, supporting continued competition, avoiding unnecessary bidding cost and adhering to subsequent technical or legal guidance. Stage 1 - Invitation to Tender and Tender Evaluation At Stage 1, Suppliers are invited to submit a Tender response in accordance with the requirements of this ITT. The initial Tender responses shall include: - Procurement Specific Questionnaire - Business Plan Pricing Model - Award Questionnaire - ITT - Appendix B - Commercially Sensitive Information (To be returned if your Tender submission includes information considered by you to be confidential/commercially sensitive under the Freedom of Information Act 2000) - ITT - Appendix E - Form of Tender - ITT - Appendix F - Certificate of Non-Canvassing & Non-Collusion - ITT - Appendix G - Parent Company Declaration The Authority will evaluate Tenders in accordance with the evaluation criteria set out in this ITT and associated documents Only those Tenders that satisfy the Conditions of Participation as per the Procurement Specific Questionnaire will be subject to full evaluation. Following evaluation, the Authority will: - identify the highest scoring Tenderer based on the award criteria; and select that Tenderer as the Preferred Bidder. The Authority reserves the right not to appoint a Preferred Bidder where it considers that no Tender sufficiently meets its requirements. The Authority reserves the right to award following initial tenders without negotiation. Stage 2 - Preferred Bidder Appointment and Negotiation Following Stage 1, the Authority intends to enter into a period of negotiation with the Preferred Bidder. The purpose of the negotiation is to: - refine and finalise the business plan pricing model and pricing assumptions, including TUPE and FFE Maintenance implications - agree the detailed contractual terms, provided that such refinements do not materially alter the basis on which Tenders were evaluated - confirm all aspects of the Preferred Bidder's Tender to enable contract award. Negotiations will be limited to clarifying, refining and confirming the Preferred Bidder's Tender, including commercial, financial and contractual matters, provided that such negotiations do not: - materially alter the basis on which Tenders were evaluated; - introduce new award criteria; or - result in unequal treatment between Tenderers. At the conclusion of this stage, the Authority will either: - confirm the Preferred Bidder as the successful Supplier and proceed to Contract Award; or - where agreement cannot be reached, discontinue engagement with the Preferred Bidder and: - either abandon the Procurement; or - at its discretion, enter in to negotiations with the next highest ranked supplier, in accordance with the above. Without prejudice to its obligations under the Procurement Act 2023, the Authority reserves the right to: - amend the timetable or structure of the Procurement; - seek clarification or additional information from any Tenderer; - refrain from appointing a Preferred Bidder; - conduct engagement or negotiation with more than one Tenderer; and/or - award the Contract without undertaking the negotiation stage.
CPV: Bar management services · Event services · Facilities management services · Library, archives, museums and other cultural services · Meal-serving services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£17,000,000
- Economic & financial standing
Conditions of Participation are included in the Invitation To Tender, and include:
- Financial Capacity
- Committing to obtain required insurance levels if awarded a place on the Contract
- Data protection
- Health & Safety
- Compliance with Equality Legislation
Please see Tender for details.
- Technical & professional ability
Conditions of Participation are included in the Invitation To Tender, and include:
- Information Security
Please see Tender for details.
What 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).
Published sub-criteria (7)
- Mobilisation: 10%
- Methodology: 20%
- Competency: 20%
- Marketing & Communications: 10%
- Health & Safety: 10%
- Business Plan Pricing Model: 20%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (7)
- Mobilisation: Please describe your proposed approach to mobilising the contract to ensure a successful relaunch of the site from 22 March 2027. Your response should include the following: • Your approach to mobilising the contract from receiving final confirmation of award through to service commencement date, including details of key mobilisation activities, milestones & timelines - 4% • Your approach to staff recruitment, including temporary and permanent staff and volunteers, to ensure appropriate staffing levels for the relaunch - 4% • Details of how you will identify and manage risks in the mobilisation stage and work with relevant stakeholders to ensure a smooth and successful relaunch of the site - 2%
- Methodology: Please describe your methodology for delivery of this contract. Your response should include the following: • Your approach to the catering offer for the facility, including daytime and evening offer for all areas of the facility, this should include proposed menus for café & events including weddings - 5% • A proposed events programme for the first 2 years of the contract to maximise the events space and your approach to delivering Wedding and Events to a high standard, meeting customer expectations - 4% • Your approach to maintaining the Horticultural area/Gardens to a consistent high standard, throughout the year - 2% • Details of how you will utilise the retail space, including your proposed product range, to complement the wider visitor experience - 3% • Your proposals for dealing with fluctuations in demand across all elements of the facility, including details of the proposed operating hours of the facility - 4% • Details of how you will achieve, maintain and exceed quality standards, including operational and maintenance procedures, and your approach to managing fixtures and fittings - 2%
- Competency: Please demonstrate the competency of your organisation and proposed delivery team to deliver all elements of this contract. Your response should include: • Your organisation's proposed staffing structure, detailing the key staff roles and how they will support with the delivery of a high-standard service delivery across catering, weddings, events, horticulture and retail - 6% • Details of your organisation's capability to deliver a multi‑service site, including catering, weddings, events, horticulture and retail - 8% • How your team will apply their skills and professional competencies to deliver high‑quality catering, weddings and events, maintain the horticultural gardens and operate the retail space. - 6%
- Marketing & Communications: Please provide a detailed communications & marketing plan, to demonstrate how you will market the Kirkleatham Walled Garden and the proposed activities. Your response should include the following: • Details of how you will promote the site ahead of the full reopening - 2% • Your marketing strategy to maximise visitor numbers and commercial income across all areas - 2% • Details of your digital and social media offering, including details of the website and online booking process - 2% • Details of how you will market events, wedding and private hire to maximise the use of the facility - 2% • Details on how you will liaise with neighbours, the wider estate and contract stakeholders to promote the area - 2%
- Health & Safety: Please detail how your organisation will manage health and safety requirements in the delivery of all the activities offered on site. Please include risk assessments and method statements that will be in place to cover the services detailed in the Specification. Your response should include the following: • How will you manage the health and safety of the public using and accessing the site, including large-scale events and weddings - 5% • How will you manage potential health and safety issues for employees, including how to protect employees from noise and vibration of equipment - 5%
- Business Plan Pricing Model: Please complete the template provided at "Business Plan Pricing Model Tender Response Form" with your Business Plan Pricing Model. This should be accompanied by a narrative response (below) providing further explanation of the Business Plan model. On the tab marked RCBC payments, this is the annual payment you are proposing to pay to the Council. You should indicate if you are giving a Guaranteed Base Rent and/or a % of turnover.
- Social Value: Please complete the Social Value TOMs document included within the accompanying documentation.
- Economic & financial standing
Conditions of Participation are included in the Invitation To Tender, and include:
- Financial Capacity
- Committing to obtain required insurance levels if awarded a place on the Contract
- Data protection
- Health & Safety
- Compliance with Equality Legislation
Please see Tender for details.
- Technical & professional ability
Conditions of Participation are included in the Invitation To Tender, and include:
- Information Security
Please see Tender for details.
- Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Concession
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 23 Feb 2026, 15:48 GMT
- Last source update
- 23 Jun 2026, 15:17 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 11 Dec 2026
- Authority reference
OPEN2026340- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-059055- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-065a59Find a Tender
- How it runs
The Contracting Authority intends to follow the process set out below in this Procurement :
The Authority will operate a two-stage process comprising:
- Stage 1 - Invitation to Tender and Tender Evaluation; and
- Stage 2 - Preferred Bidder Appointment and Negotiation.
The Contracting Authority reserves the right to vary the procedure and timeframes of the Procurement as set out in this ITT. Reasons for this may include, but are not limited to, supporting continued competition, avoiding unnecessary bidding cost and adhering to subsequent technical or legal guidance.
Stage 1 - Invitation to Tender and Tender Evaluation
At Stage 1, Suppliers are invited to submit a Tender response in accordance with the requirements of this ITT.
The initial Tender responses shall include:
- Procurement Specific Questionnaire
- Business Plan Pricing Model
- Award Questionnaire
- ITT - Appendix B - Commercially Sensitive Information (To be returned if your Tender submission includes information considered by you to be confidential/commercially sensitive under the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
- ITT - Appendix E - Form of Tender
- ITT - Appendix F - Certificate of Non-Canvassing & Non-Collusion
- ITT - Appendix G - Parent Company Declaration
The Authority will evaluate Tenders in accordance with the evaluation criteria set out in this ITT and associated documents
Only those Tenders that satisfy the Conditions of Participation as per the Procurement Specific Questionnaire will be subject to full evaluation.
Following evaluation, the Authority will:
- identify the highest scoring Tenderer based on the award criteria; and select that Tenderer as the Preferred Bidder.
The Authority reserves the right not to appoint a Preferred Bidder where it considers that no Tender sufficiently meets its requirements.
The Authority reserves the right to award following initial tenders without negotiation.
Stage 2 - Preferred Bidder Appointment and Negotiation
Following Stage 1, the Authority intends to enter into a period of negotiation with the Preferred Bidder. The purpose of the negotiation is to:
- refine and finalise the business plan pricing model and pricing assumptions, including TUPE and FFE Maintenance implications
- agree the detailed contractual terms, provided that such refinements do not materially alter the basis on which Tenders were evaluated
- confirm all aspects of the Preferred Bidder's Tender to enable contract award.
Negotiations will be limited to clarifying, refining and confirming the Preferred Bidder's Tender, including commercial, financial and contractual matters, provided that such negotiations do not:
- materially alter the basis on which Tenders were evaluated;
- introduce new award criteria; or
- result in unequal treatment between Tenderers.
At the conclusion of this stage, the Authority will either:
- confirm the Preferred Bidder as the successful Supplier and proceed to Contract Award; or
- where agreement cannot be reached, discontinue engagement with the Preferred Bidder and:
- either abandon the Procurement; or
- at its discretion, enter in to negotiations with the next highest ranked supplier, in accordance with the above.
Without prejudice to its obligations under the Procurement Act 2023, the Authority reserves the right to:
- amend the timetable or structure of the Procurement;
- seek clarification or additional information from any Tenderer;
- refrain from appointing a Preferred Bidder;
- conduct engagement or negotiation with more than one Tenderer; and/or
- award the Contract without undertaking the negotiation stage.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 31 Jul 2026, 14:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 24 Jul 2026, 14:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Please be advised that Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council are conducting this procurement via Open (www.open-uk.org ↗ (www.open.uk.org ↗)). If you go to Browse Opportunities at the top of the page and Filter on Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council you can then search for this opportunity. Tenders must be submitted via the Open system.
If you require time-critical assistance on submitting your response, please contact the Open Support Team open.support@nepo.org
For non-time critical issues, such as passwords, general account queries and location of information please visit Open hub via www.open-hub.org/how-to-guides/ ↗ (www.open-hub.org/how-to-guides/ ↗) or seek support from open.support@nepo.org.
PLEASE NOTE: The system is accessible 24/7 however, technical support is only available Monday - Thursday 8:30am-5:00pm, Friday - 8:30am-4:30pm
Timeline
23 Feb 2026 → 22 Mar 2027 · 8 dates- Planning notice published247 days ago23 Feb 2026, 15:48 GMT
- Market engagement228 days ago13 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council are inviting suitably qualified and experienced operators to take part in a Market Engagement exercise, ahead of an anticipate Procurement exercise to appoint an operator for the Kirkleatham Walled Garden catering, training and events facility.
The engagement will provide information on the Council's proposed service specification, strategic objectives, and anticipated procurement process. It will also give suppliers the opportunity to provide feedback on delivery models, risk allocation, commercial arrangements, and innovation opportunities.
Tender documentation is expected to be issued in April 2026.
One-to-one provider engagement sessions are available on 10th and 13th March 2026, these sessions are 60-minute appointments to be held virtually via Microsoft Teams.
Where appropriate, anonymised or summary feedback from the engagement exercise may be shared with all interested parties to support transparency and equal treatment.
The Council will ensure that information obtained during engagement is managed fairly and that no participant receives an unfair competitive advantage.
Providers wishing to register attendance must do so in writing to procurement@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk no later than 17:00 on Friday 6 March 2026. Please provide your organisation's name and name of those wishing to attend, along with email addresses.
If you are unable to attend on the dates provided but would like to discuss the forthcoming opportunity with the Council, please email and we will endeavour to arrange a call to discuss.
Participation in this preliminary market engagement exercise is voluntary. Participation does not guarantee inclusion in any subsequent procurement process. Non-participation will not disadvantage any potential bidder. All bidders in the future procurement will have equal access to relevant information.
Information submitted as part of this engagement will be used solely for the purpose of informing the procurement process and will be handled in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.
- Tender notice published127 days ago23 Jun 2026, 15:17 BST
- Next notice expected119 days ago30 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Clarification questions by96 days ago24 Jul 2026, 14:00 BST
- Submission deadline89 days ago31 Jul 2026, 14:00 BST
- Today28 Oct 2026
- Award decision expected byin 44 days11 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 144 days22 Mar 2027
Notice history
8 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 Feb 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published23 Feb 2026, 15:48 GMTUK2
- Pipeline notice published18 May 2026, 09:21 BSTUK1
- Published value published: £5,000,00018 May 2026, 09:21 BST
- Status changed to planned18 May 2026, 09:21 BST
- Tender notice published23 Jun 2026, 15:17 BSTUK4
- Status changed to active23 Jun 2026, 15:17 BST
- Procurement method changed23 Jun 2026, 15:17 BST
- Deadline published: 31 Jul 2026, 14:00 BST23 Jun 2026, 15:17 BST
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender