Official UK procurement notice
Payment services provider and merchant acquirer for card payments at Cheshire East Borough Council's Car Parks
Authority: Cheshire East Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionA tender for the provision of Combined Payment Services/ Merchant acquirer (PSP/MA) for car parking machines across Cheshire East Borough. This requirement is for an end to end payment processing service. The winning bidder must be able to provide Combined Payment Services Provider /Merchant Acquiring for 3 types of parking payment machines across the borough.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 12 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT.
CPV: Software package and information systems
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£400,000
- Economic & financial standing
As per the requirements of tender pack and the Software and Hardware services agreement.
- Technical & professional ability
Relevant Experience and Contract Examples
Details of up to three contracts to meet the technical ability criteria set out in the Associated Tender Documents
You should demonstrate how your contracts and experience meet the critical project specific requirements as outlined in the tender documents.
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 award criteria (3)
- Price: As per tender documents.
- Quality: Downtime - fault resolution process and how issues are resolved, and how quickly are issues resolved and how do you inform the Council? Ensure fast efficient transactions at the payment machines and how you remedy slow processing speeds Actions you take to review the contract with council staff e.g. account review meetings on a quarterly basis
- Social Value: Suppliers Social Value offer, as per tender documents.
- Economic & financial standing
As per the requirements of tender pack and the Software and Hardware services agreement.
- Technical & professional ability
Relevant Experience and Contract Examples
Details of up to three contracts to meet the technical ability criteria set out in the Associated Tender Documents
You should demonstrate how your contracts and experience meet the critical project specific requirements as outlined in the tender documents.
- Price carries 80 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 8 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £266,423 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Cheshire East Council buys Software package and information systems (CPV 48), and who usually turns up
Cheshire East 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: Software package and information systems (CPV 48) →
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 North West England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside 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 56 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.
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 bid20% / 13%
2–329% / 26%
4–614% / 36%
7+37% / 25%
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 estimate43% / 54%
Within ±2%52% / 23%
Above estimate5% / 23%
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 48Published estimate£400k
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 48. The comparison uses that group.
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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid16%
2–317%
4–616%
7+52%
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.
Based on 48 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£320k–£400k
Estimate£400k
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
CIVICA UK LIMITEDLarge | £47m158 awards in 36m · last this month | 63 live · £163m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 7% below n=19 |
| £37m18 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 5 live · £100m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 42% below n=2 | |
| £18m15 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 3 live · £8.8m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 18% below n=5 | |
| £13m21 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 7 live · £8.1m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 19% below n=2 | |
| £10m20 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 8 live · £3.4m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=7 |
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- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- 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
- Yes · next expected 12 Nov 2026
- First published
- 1 Oct 2026, 11:37 BST
- Last source update
- 1 Oct 2026, 11:37 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 11 Nov 2026
- Authority reference
C5409- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-092760- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077e76Find a Tender
- Risks
None
How to participate & submission route
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 27 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 16 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Tenders are available via The Chest -
Proactis Help line number for Suppliers: 0330 005 0352
Timeline
1 Oct 2026 → 1 Feb 2027 · 5 dates- Tender notice published26 days ago1 Oct 2026, 11:37 BST
- Clarification questions by11 days ago16 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Today26 Oct 2026
- Submission deadlinein 1 day27 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 16 days11 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 97 days1 Feb 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published1 Oct 2026, 11:37 BSTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- 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
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender