Official UK procurement notice
UKRI-5720 Magnetic Bearing Drive systems for ISIS Neutron Disc Choppers
Authority: UK Research and Innovation (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThis tender provides the outline specification for UKRI to contract with a single supplier to supply between six- and eleven-disc chopper drive systems to be purchased within the first year of the call-off contract. Future systems procured under this contract would be based upon this specification, but adjusted to meet the specific project requirements, to be agreed at the project’s preliminary design review. The total volume purchased throughout the duration of the contract is likely to be in the region of 20 systems, but this figure cannot be guaranteed.
- No preliminary market engagement: Informal pre-market engagement has been conducted for what is deemed a niche requirement.
CPV: Miscellaneous special-purpose machinery
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Published value£2,100,000
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 (2)
- Price
- Quality
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £1,049,281 (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 UK Research and Innovation buys Miscellaneous special-purpose machinery (CPV 4299), and who usually turns up
UK Research and Innovation’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: Miscellaneous special-purpose machinery (CPV 4299) →
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 South West England (authority’s region).
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 23 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.
Both shares are minimums: 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 bid38% / 29%
2–346% / 67%
4–615% / 5%
7+0% / 0%
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 estimate30% / 50%
Within ±2%30% / 25%
Above estimate40% / 25%
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 4299Published estimate£2.1m
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 bid33%
2–363%
4–64%
7+0%
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 2 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%£2.1m
Estimate£2.1m
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Liquide Advanced TechnologiesWorked for this buyer | UKRI-5543 Cryoplant for the National Cryogenic Facilityruns to Mar 2028 | — | £15m | Similar wording and category |
| AVS Added Value Industrial Engineering Soultion S.L.UWorked for this buyer | UKRI-2284 Large Vacuum Chamber Manufacture and Fabricationnotice published Aug 2022 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
| Hurco Europe LtdWorked for this buyer | UKRI-2342 CNC Machining Centrenotice published Aug 2022 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| £16m5 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 1 live · £250k 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. | 3% below n=2 | |
| £7.3m7 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 3 live · £6.0m 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=4 | |
| £679k5 awards in 36m · last 7 months ago | 3 live · £353k 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=1 | |
| £1.8m9 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 6 live · £1.1m 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. | at estimate n=3 | |
| £2.5m10 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 4 live · £16m 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. | no comparable pairs |
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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 24 Sept 2026, 15:57 BST
- Last source update
- 7 Oct 2026, 12:35 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 6 Nov 2026
- Authority reference
UKRI-5720- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-090699- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0779d2Find a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via UKRI eSourcing- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 2 Nov 2026, 14:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 22 Oct 2026, 14:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
24 Sept 2026 → 23 Nov 2026 · 6 dates- Tender notice published32 days ago24 Sept 2026, 15:57 BST
- Latest notice published19 days ago7 Oct 2026, 12:35 BST
- Clarification questions by4 days ago22 Oct 2026, 14:00 BST
- Today26 Oct 2026
- Submission deadlinein 7 days2 Nov 2026, 14:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 11 days6 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 27 days23 Nov 2026
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 24 Sept 2026- Tender notice published24 Sept 2026, 15:57 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published7 Oct 2026, 12:35 BSTUK4
- Deadline moved to 2 Nov 2026, 14:00 GMT7 Oct 2026, 12:35 BST+14 days · was 19 Oct 2026, 14:00 BST
Published amendments (1)
Tender Submission deadline extended
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 (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender