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Published 7 Sept 2026, 11:48 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Procurement of Modular A-Frame - PMEN (UK2)

Official notice Competition analysis

Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)

GoodsAbove thresholdDefence & securitySME suitable
Sectors: Transport Equipment & Vehicles (34)Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment (35)Industrial machinery (42)
+1 moreConstruction Materials & Prefab (44)
 Delivery: UK
Planned pipeline value£8,000,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 28 Jan 2027from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 6 yrsends 30 Jun 2033 · starts 30 Jun 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Authority has a potential requirement for a minimum of one (1) Modular A-Frame, associated equipment and in-service support. The A-Frame will form part of a Launch and Recovery (L&R) System, and will support UK Royal Navy’s (RN) operations, training activities, and assessment of suitability for wider application across RN vessels. More requirement detail can be found in the Request for Information (RFI), attached within the Opportunity Listing linked below.

The Authority is considering a procurement that may also include provision for the purchase of additional quantities of A-Frames, associated equipment, spares, training, maintenance and other related goods and services. Note that the Total Value stated below is indicative only, and has been estimated on the basis that potential additional requirements and Options may be included.

The quantities, scope and duration of any such requirements remain under development and will be determined by the Authority in accordance with its future operational requirements, funding and procurement strategy.

The Commercial/procurement strategy (incl. route-to-market approach), support arrangements, and delivery schedule/profile (etc.) remain under development.

*NOTE: the PMEN and RFI do NOT represent a commitment to future procurement activity. Following the conclusion of this PMEN/RFI, the Authority may (at its sole discretion) decide to proceed with the procurement as planned, proceed via a different procurement/commercial route, or not proceed at all.*

CPV: Cranes, mobile lifting frames and works trucks fitted with a crane · Frames · Hull and mechanical spare parts for warships · Parts for warships · Ships

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Planned 6 yrsSME
Contract period: 30 Jun 2027 – 30 Jun 2033 (6 yrs)
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligible
34510000 Ships35520000 Parts for warships35521000 Hull and mechanical spare parts for warships42414000 Cranes, mobile lifting frames and works trucks fitted with a crane44142000 Frames

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How Ministry of Defence buys Parts for warships (CPV 3552), and who usually turns up

Ministry of Defence’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: Parts for warships (CPV 3552) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerMinistry of Defence · division 35
The marketParts for warships (CPV 3552) · UK-wide
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 27 of 79 known-size awards · market: CPV 3552 · UK-wide, n=8
34%50%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 10 of 17 known-location awards · market: division 35 · UK-wide, n=285
59%35%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no decision dates published · market: division 35 · UK-wide, n=53
—58 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 58 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 39 of 76 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: division 35 · UK-wide, n=512
51%59%

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer19 lots with bid counts · broad CPV 35
63% had one bid
The market129 lots with bid counts · division 35 · UK-wide
19% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid63% / 19%
Buyer: 12 of 19 lots with published bid counts. Market: 24 of 129 lots with published bid counts.
2–316% / 38%
Buyer: 3 of 19 lots with published bid counts. Market: 49 of 129 lots with published bid counts.
4–65% / 30%
Buyer: 1 of 19 lots with published bid counts. Market: 39 of 129 lots with published bid counts.
7+16% / 13%
Buyer: 3 of 19 lots with published bid counts. Market: 17 of 129 lots with published bid counts.

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer5 lots with estimate and award · broad CPV 35
80% below estimate
The market62 lots with estimate and award · division 35 · UK-wide
48% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate80% / 48%
Buyer: 4 of 5 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 30 of 62 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%20% / 37%
Buyer: 1 of 5 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 23 of 62 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate0% / 15%
Buyer: 0 of 5 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 9 of 62 lots with an estimate and award.
2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 355272 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£8.0m
Expected competition
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 129 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet19% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 129 similar lots
1 bid19%
24 of 129 similar past lots received 1 bid (19%).
2–338%
49 of 129 similar past lots received 2–3 (38%).
4–630%
39 of 129 similar past lots received 4–6 (30%).
7+13%
17 of 129 similar past lots received 7+ (13%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 3 bids.
Commercial price forecast
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.

—No model forecast yet
No comparable awards on record for this lot’s category yet. The published estimate is £8.0m, and the forecast stays empty until the market has a record to read.

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.

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.

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
Defence & security
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
7 Sept 2026, 11:48 BST
Last source update
28 Sept 2026, 12:52 BST
Authority reference
715926476
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-091413
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Cranes, mobile lifting frames and works trucks fitted with a craneFramesHull and mechanical spare parts for warshipsParts for warshipsShips
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f348 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

7 Sept 2026 → 30 Jun 2027 · 5 dates
  1. Planning notice published49 days ago
    7 Sept 2026, 11:48 BST
  2. Latest notice published28 days ago
    28 Sept 2026, 12:52 BST
  3. Market engagement20 days ago
    6 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST

    This PMEN and accompanying RFI seek market feedback regarding indicative costs, procurement/delivery timescales, support arrangements and technical and commercial risks (etc.), whilst providing Industry advance notice of the potential procurement.

    *NOTE: the RFI has been uplifted to version 1.1 to reflect minor requirement clarifications*

    Interested suppliers are requested to respond to the RFI ("v1.1") attached within the Opportunity Listing, linked here: contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opport… ↗

    The completed RFI Questionnaire must be returned via email to jack.pass103@mod.gov.uk by no later than 12:00hrs midday (UK time), Tuesday 06th October 2026.

    Potential suppliers may raise questions or seek clarification regarding the RFI Questionnaire. These must be submitted BEFORE 12:00hrs midday (UK time), 22nd September 2026. Questions must be submitted via email to jack.pass103@mod.gov.uk. The Authority will endeavour – but is not obliged – to respond to any questions received.

    Participation in the RFI is voluntary, and non-participation will not be taken into account in any future potential procurement activities nor will this preclude any potential supplier from participating in any subsequent formal procurement procedure.

    Further details relating to the requirement and RFI response instructions can be found within the RFI.

  4. Today
    27 Oct 2026
  5. Tender notice expectedin 93 days
    28 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
  6. Contract startsin 245 days
    30 Jun 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

5 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 7 Sept 2026
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    7 Sept 2026, 11:48 BST
    UK2
  2. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    10 Sept 2026, 10:37 BST
    UK2
  3. Pipeline notice published
    11 Sept 2026, 15:11 BST
    UK1
  4. Status changed to planned
    11 Sept 2026, 15:11 BST
  5. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    28 Sept 2026, 12:52 BST
    UK2
Published amendments (2)

Clarification of assumption behind estimated Total Value. Clarification of Delivery Region.

The RFI response deadline included in this PMEN has been extended following changes to the RFI. Changes to the RFI (attached within the Opportunity Listing) include minor clarifications to the requirement - the RFI has been uplifted to "RFI v1.1".

Routine re-releases (4)
  • 2026-09: 1 release · 7 Sept 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

Ministry of Defence

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PHVX-4316-ZVGZ MoD Abbey Wood (South), Bristol, South West, BS34 8JHContact name, email

Official documents & specifications (4)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure