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Find a TenderCancelledProcurement termination notice
Published 23 May 2025, 09:49 BST

Official UK procurement notice

RBWM Grounds Maintenance Services

Official notice

Authority: The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (Local council)

ServicesCompetitive flexible procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Sectors: Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services (77) Delivery: South East (UKJ1)
Published estimate£28,418,550≈ £5.2m / year · £34,102,260 inc. VAT · 1 value update
Submissions closed 1 Aug 2025
Next notice expected 30 Jun 2025
Contract term 5 yrs 6 moends 30 Sept 2031 · up to 1 Oct 2041 with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

RBWM is seeking a grounds maintenance service provider to provide a range of grounds maintenance services across the borough. This will include, but is not limited to: verge maintenance, grass cutting, parks and open spaces maintenance, cemeteries maintenance and handyman/handyperson services. This will be a single contract.

  • Not divided into lots: In principle, the contract could have been divided into lots (for instance, by geography (e.g. a Windsor contract, a Maidenhead contract) or by specialism (e.g. a grass-cutting contract), however there remained no internal or external (market) appetite to do so. An extensive market engagement exercise was carried out in December 2024/January 2025 asking the market about preferred delivery/contractual models. Over two-thirds of respondents preferred a single contract to allow for better strategic oversight, operational and financial economies of scale and to maximise consistency of service for residents. This was the preferred option of SMEs and larger organisations alike and RBWM agreed with their rationale.
  • How the procedure runs: The Authority's competitive flexible procedure comprises two stages (and broadly resembles the 'restricted' procedure under the former regulatory regime - PCR 2015): 1) Participation Stage - this stage invites suppliers to submit a 'Participation Questionnaire', requiring suppliers to satisfy legal, financial and technical standing requirements. Without prejudice to any of the specific provisions of the invitation document, the Authority anticipates inviting only the four highest scoring suppliers to stage 2. 2) Tender Stage - preferred suppliers from Stage 1 are then invited to a substantive tender stage, at which suppliers will put forward their commercial and technical proposals.

CPV: Grounds maintenance services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1CancelledRenewal 5 yrs 6 moSMEPublished value£28,418,550
Contract period: 1 Apr 2026 – 30 Sept 2031 (5 yrs 6 mo) · up to 1 Oct 2041 with extensionsValue: £28,418,550 exc. VAT · £34,102,260 inc. VAT
Delivery: South EastEligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: The advertised value comprises the fixed amount (£1,879,570 per annum (+ VAT) for the core services) and the known amount in respect of the first option. Without prejudice to the Authority's broader rights under the Procurement Act 2023, the Authority has the following options, created in reliance on s.74 and Sch.8(1) of the Procurement Act 2023. Discretionary: £15,000 has been deducted from the originally envisaged budget owing to uncertainty around a Maidenhead project. In the event that this project is retained by RBWM, the Authority reserves the right to increase the financial envelope by an amount between £15,000 - £45,000 per annum (with allowances for inflation in accordance with Annex C) to support the project. In the event that it is not retained by RBWM, the Authority reserves the right to utilise this funding to top-up existing Services. This shall be priced utilising the Candidate's pricing schedule submission at substantive tender stage. Discretionary: the Authority may have grounds maintenance requirements for Authority flooding and drainage features. The Authority reserves the right to increase the financial envelope (with allowances for inflation in accordance with Annex C) to incorporate these Services and shall be priced utilising the Candidate's pricing schedule submission at substantive tender stage. Discretionary: Annexes B.1 and B.2 at the time of publishing this tender exclude the geography of Cookham. In the event this geography re-enters the scope of this Contract, the Authority reserves the right to increase the financial envelope (with allowances for inflation in accordance with Annex C) to incorporate these Services and shall be priced utilising the Candidate's pricing schedule submission at substantive tender stage. Discretionary: the Authority is proposing a 5+5+5 years Contract term and it is anticipated that the Authority may acquire new estates or land throughout this term or, otherwise, existing estates or land that have become the responsibility of the Authority. Some of these acquisitions may be significant in nature and, as such, may require significant financial increases; however, the Authority does not guarantee that these acquisitions will take place. These acquisitions may require grounds maintenance services and may be incorporated into the Contract. The Authority reserves the right to increase the financial envelope (with allowances for inflation in accordance with Annex C) and increases shall be priced utilising the Candidate's pricing schedule submission at substantive tender stage. Discretionary: the Authority may, from time to time, have exceptional ad-hoc requirements pertaining to ceremonial events (e.g. state visits, funerals, weddings) and extreme weather events. These events may require grounds maintenance Services. The Authority cannot enumerate in advance an exhaustive list of events of this nature. The Authority may, in the first instance, re-direct the Candidate's resources. However, where required, the Authority reserves the right to make unique and temporary increases to the financial envelope - such increases shall be priced utilising the Candidate's pricing schedule submission at substantive tender stage. Discretionary: the Authority may, from time to time, be in receipt of external funding (e.g. grant funding) that could be used to enhance the Services. The Authority reserves the right to make unique and temporary increases to the financial envelope - such increases shall be priced utilising the Candidate's pricing schedule submission at substantive tender stage. · 5+5+5
77314000 Grounds maintenance services
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)3
  • Economic & financial standing

    Please see the invitation documentation

  • Technical & professional ability

    Please see the invitation documentation

  • Condition of participation

    Satisfaction of the conditions of participation (i.e. the 'exclusions' assessment, the financial standing assessment and the technical/professional standing assessment). The latter is scored and, subject to suppliers passing the former assessments, the Authority anticipates inviting only the four highest scoring suppliers (without prejudice to any of the Authority's rights contained within the invitation documentation).

    shortlisting

What it takes to win
i

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 more
How bids were scored
  • Best Price (using the Pricing Schedule): Requirement to populate the Authority's pricing schedule and submit a 'Best Price' for the core costings and best unit costings.
  • Technical Questionnaire: Requirement to respond to the quality questions in the technical questionnaire in observation of any limits imposed.
Conditions of participation3
  • Economic & financial standing

    Please see the invitation documentation

  • Technical & professional ability

    Please see the invitation documentation

  • Condition of participation

    Satisfaction of the conditions of participation (i.e. the 'exclusions' assessment, the financial standing assessment and the technical/professional standing assessment). The latter is scored and, subject to suppliers passing the former assessments, the Authority anticipates inviting only the four highest scoring suppliers (without prejudice to any of the Authority's rights contained within the invitation documentation).

    shortlisting

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
Cancelled
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
23 May 2025, 09:49 BST
Last source update
29 Oct 2025, 14:08 GMT
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 20 Feb 2026
Authority reference
RBWMGM25
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-037147
Latest notice
Procurement termination notice (UK12)
Classification (CPV)
Grounds maintenance services
Delivery area
South East (UKJ1)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05202a Find a Tender
How it runs

The Authority's competitive flexible procedure comprises two stages (and broadly resembles the 'restricted' procedure under the former regulatory regime - PCR 2015):

  1. Participation Stage - this stage invites suppliers to submit a 'Participation Questionnaire', requiring suppliers to satisfy legal, financial and technical standing requirements. Without prejudice to any of the specific provisions of the invitation document, the Authority anticipates inviting only the four highest scoring suppliers to stage 2.
  2. Tender Stage - preferred suppliers from Stage 1 are then invited to a substantive tender stage, at which suppliers will put forward their commercial and technical proposals.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: Jaggaer · Who buys & how to bid on JAGGAER
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free; latest Chrome/Edge/Firefox only — corporate browsers fail
Requests to participate (first stage)
1 Aug 2025, 13:00 BST
Submission deadline
1 Aug 2025, 13:00 BST
Clarification deadline
17 Jul 2025, 13:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

public.bravosolution.co.uk/esop/guest/login.do ↗

Timeline

23 May 2025 → 1 Apr 2026 · 9 dates
  1. Planning notice published
    23 May 2025, 09:49 BST
  2. Market engagement
    27 Jun 2025, 23:59 BST

    Substantive engagement took place in December 2024 and January 2025. A PIN (as it was published pre-Feb 2025) was published in December to advertise this.

    RBWM wishes to hold an informal Q&A session on 27/06 (12:30 - 1pm). This will be an opportunity for suppliers to ask any final questions prior to the tender being launched. No slides will be prepared.

    To register, please see the registration link here: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/46997500-c46d-… ↗.

    If there are any issues with this link, please contact:

    joey.stanford@RBWM.gov.uk.

  3. Next notice expected
    30 Jun 2025, 23:59 BST
  4. Tender notice published
    3 Jul 2025, 14:31 BST
  5. Clarification questions by
    17 Jul 2025, 13:00 BST
  6. Submission deadline
    1 Aug 2025, 13:00 BST
  7. Latest notice published363 days ago
    29 Oct 2025, 14:08 GMT
  8. Award decision expected by249 days ago
    20 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
  9. Contract starts210 days ago
    1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST

Notice history

8 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 May 2025
  1. Pipeline notice published
    23 May 2025, 09:49 BST
    UK1
  2. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    20 Jun 2025, 11:09 BST
    UK2
  3. Tender notice published
    3 Jul 2025, 14:31 BST
    UK4
  4. Published value published: £28,418,550
    3 Jul 2025, 14:31 BST
  5. Status changed to active
    3 Jul 2025, 14:31 BST
  6. Procurement method changed
    3 Jul 2025, 14:31 BST
  7. Procurement termination notice published
    29 Oct 2025, 14:08 GMT
    UK12
  8. Status changed to cancelled
    29 Oct 2025, 14:08 GMT
Routine re-releases (4)
  • 2025-05: 1 release · 23 May 2025

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded toValueDateStatus
supplier not published—29 Oct 2025CancelledThe Authority has taken market feedback very seriously in relation to the viability of the available financial envelope. Termination (with the intention of re-running) will provide the Authority an opportunity to increase funding to maximise the offers of bidders. This is, at least, the Authority's intention.

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PJQM-1124-QDHW St Ives Road, Maidenhead, South East, SL6 1RFContact email

Official documents & specifications (5)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Notices published for this procedure