Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 29 Sept 2026, 12:53 BST

Official UK procurement notice

UK 777 IT Onsite Operations and Infrastructure supporting services

Authority: British Council (Local council)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Sectors: IT Services & Software (72) Delivery: UK
Published estimate£1,233,333≈ £411k / year · £1,540,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 9 Nov 202614:00 GMT · 12 days left
Clarification cut-off 29 Oct 202614:00 GMT · questions to the authority
Contract term 3 yrsends 31 Mar 2030 · up to 31 Mar 2034 with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The requirements and scope of this tender include the British Council's UK headquarters and all UK-based offices. The supplier shall provide End User Computing (EUC) and on-site IT support services for the British Council's UK estate, primarily residing at Stratford, with a physical presence in Manchester and primarily remote support for Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Coventry site, with occasional site visits as required.

Complementing the British Council Digital and Technology team (D&T), the supplier will deliver hands-on, desk-side, and infrastructure support where remote resolution is not feasible by either our Global Service Desk (GSD) or Central Infrastructure Team (CIT). The Contract awarded will be for a duration 3 years with an option for extensions of up to 4 additional annual extensions.

As a first step, interested suppliers are required to complete and sign the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and Annex 2, the Procurement-Specific Questionnaire. Upon receipt of the completed and signed documents, the British Council will provide access to the full tender pack and all relevant supporting documentation.

CPV: IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Renewal 3 yrsSMEPublished value£1,233,333
Contract period: 1 Apr 2027 – 31 Mar 2030 (3 yrs) · up to 31 Mar 2034 with extensionsValue: £1,233,333 exc. VAT · £1,540,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligibleTurnover guideline: ~£821,472/yr≈ 2× annual value
Extensions: 4 possible annual extensions

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

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 are scored
Quality: 60%Price: 40%
Published sub-criteria (2)
  • SV Quality and Methodology: 60%
  • Commercial: 40%
Published award criteria (2)
  • SV Quality and Methodology: Social Value 10 Quality 15 Methodology 35
  • Commercial: Pricing

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
  • Turnover usually expected at this size: about £821,472 (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 British Council buys IT services: consulting, software, internet (CPV 72), and who usually turns up

British 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: IT services: consulting, software, internet (CPV 72) →

1

How the contest usually goes

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

Question for the bid
This buyerBritish Council · division 72
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: 5 of 8 known-size awards · market: division 72 · UK-wide, n=3,430
63%37%

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: no winner locations published · market: division 72 · UK-wide, n=2,635
—36%

No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address 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: 8 decided notices · market: division 72 · UK-wide, n=397
14 days50 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 14 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 1 of 17 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: division 72 · UK-wide, n=5,272
6%63%

Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.

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 buyer6 lots with bid counts · broad CPV 72
0% had one bid
The market789 lots with bid counts · division 72 · UK-wide
12% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid0% / 12%
Buyer: 0 of 6 lots with published bid counts. Market: 97 of 789 lots with published bid counts.
2–333% / 28%
Buyer: 2 of 6 lots with published bid counts. Market: 218 of 789 lots with published bid counts.
4–650% / 28%
Buyer: 3 of 6 lots with published bid counts. Market: 223 of 789 lots with published bid counts.
7+17% / 32%
Buyer: 1 of 6 lots with published bid counts. Market: 251 of 789 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 buyer6 lots with estimate and award · broad CPV 72
50% below estimate
The market530 lots with estimate and award · division 72 · UK-wide
46% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate50% / 46%
Buyer: 3 of 6 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 244 of 530 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%33% / 38%
Buyer: 2 of 6 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 199 of 530 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate17% / 16%
Buyer: 1 of 6 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 87 of 530 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 7236 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£1.2m

This lot lists more than one class in CPV 72. The comparison uses that group.

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.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

4expected bids7% chance of a single bid
similar past contests in this category: 758
Forecast chances for this lot
1 bid7%
Chance this lot gets 1 bid: 7%. This is a forecast.
2–339%
Chance this lot gets 2–3: 39%. This is a forecast.
4–624%
Chance this lot gets 4–6: 24%. This is a forecast.
7+30%
Chance this lot gets 7+: 30%. This is a forecast.
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.

Based on 178 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.

£1.1m12% below estimate
178 comparable awards
Forecast compared with the buyer’s estimate
Middle 50%£1.0m–£1.2m
Half of likely prices fall between £1,018,287 and £1,226,142.
Estimate£1.2m
The buyer published an estimate of £1,233,333 for this lot.
A 23% chance the award lands exactly on the estimate.

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.

SupplierWon in this categoryLive contractsAward vs estimate
8 panel places
£399m28 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago12 live · £208m
i

Public 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.

3% below n=7
19 panel places
£280m212 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago80 live · £152m
i

Public 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=10
10 panel places
£40m50 awards in 36m · last this month15 live · £570k
i

Public 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.

8% below n=2
£75m45 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago17 live · £5.3m
i

Public 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.

no comparable pairs
9 panel places
£37m70 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago17 live · £6.2m
i

Public 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=9
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
Services
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
Unspecified in notice
First published
29 Sept 2026, 12:53 BST
Last source update
19 Oct 2026, 11:50 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 25 Nov 2026
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-091851
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077c68 Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Submit via TCS TAP eSourcing
Submission portal named on this notice: TCS TAP eSourcing
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free
Requests to participate (first stage)
—
Tender submission deadline
9 Nov 2026, 14:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
29 Oct 2026, 14:00 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Supplier Self Registration (British Council MyProcurement): tap.tcsapps.com/tap2/ ↗

View Public Tender (British Council MyProcurement): tap.tcsapps.com/tap2sup/ ↗

Published estimate £1,233,333 excludes VAT (£1,540,000 including VAT).

Timeline

29 Sept 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 6 dates
  1. Tender notice published28 days ago
    29 Sept 2026, 12:53 BST
  2. Latest notice published8 days ago
    19 Oct 2026, 11:50 BST
  3. Today
    27 Oct 2026
  4. Clarification questions byin 42h
    29 Oct 2026, 14:00 GMT
  5. Submission deadlinein 12 days
    9 Nov 2026, 14:00 GMT
  6. Award decision expected byin 29 days
    25 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
  7. Contract startsin 155 days
    1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

4 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 29 Sept 2026
  1. Tender notice published
    29 Sept 2026, 12:53 BST
    UK4
  2. Tender notice published
    29 Sept 2026, 13:25 BST
    UK4
  3. Tender notice published
    19 Oct 2026, 11:50 BST
    UK4
  4. Deadline moved to 9 Nov 2026, 14:00 GMT
    19 Oct 2026, 11:50 BST
    +7 days · was 2 Nov 2026, 14:00 GMT
Published amendments (1)

Deadline for clarification questions and deadline for submission changes

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

British Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PHTN-1551-GCQH 1 Redman Place, London, London, E20 1JQContact name, email

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender