Official UK procurement notice
UKRI-6349 UPLiFT Refrigerant-based Helium Gas Cooler
Authority: UK Research and Innovation (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionScience and Technology Facilities Council Central Laser Facility are looking to appoint a supplier who can design and make a bespoke amplifier head cooling system. The system needs to be based on refrigerant based cooling technology to provide flexibility and remove reliance on an external source of coolant supply.
CPV: Refrigerating equipment
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Published value£140,000
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 sub-criteria (2)
- Technical & Quality: 70%
- Price: 30%
Published award criteria (2)
- Price
- Technical & 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 £280,000 (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 Heat-exchange units, air-conditioning and refrigerating equipment, and filtering machinery (CPV 4251), 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: Heat-exchange units, air-conditioning and refrigerating equipment, and filtering machinery (CPV 4251) →
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 East 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 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% / 14%
2–346% / 33%
4–615% / 38%
7+0% / 14%
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% / 43%
Within ±2%30% / 21%
Above estimate40% / 36%
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 4251Published estimate£140k
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 bid35%
2–342%
4–617%
7+6%
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 4 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%£104k–£140k
Estimate£140k
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Resource Engineering LimitedWorked for this buyer | UKRI-1575 Amplifier Cooling Systemnotice published Oct 2021 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
| Leybold UK LtdWorked for this buyer | UKRI 6002 - Leybold COOLPAK 6000H helium compressorsnotice published Apr 2026 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
| GMA Air Conditioning LtdWorked for this buyer | UKRI-5734 C2 Server Room AC System Kit Supplynotice published Feb 2026 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
| Hi-Pro Pressure Products LtdWorked for this buyer | UKRI 5193 - High Pressure Systemsruns to Feb 2028 | — | £539k | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| £1.1m7 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 3 live · £650k 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. | 13% below n=1 | |
| £508k10 awards in 36m · last 4 months ago | 2 live · £44k 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 | |
| £496k9 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 2 live · £187k 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 | |
| £989k4 awards in 36m · last 7 months ago | 1 live · £73k 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=2 | |
| £1.1m3 awards in 36m · last 8 months ago | 1 live · £539k 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
- 18 Sept 2026, 13:34 BST
- Last source update
- 23 Oct 2026, 11:37 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 4 Jan 2027
- Authority reference
UKRI-6349- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-100342- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077574Find a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via UKRI eSourcing- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 17 Dec 2026, 11:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 10 Nov 2026, 11:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
- Please note the following steps for accessing this opportunity via the Atamis eSourcing Platform:
- Log in or create an account here: ukri2.my.site.com/s/Welcome ↗
- Navigate to the opportunity in the Find an Opportunity section of the site or via the direct access link above
- Select ‘Register Interest’ (you will not be able to view the tender documentation without registering an interest)
- Go back to the main menu and navigate to the ‘My Proposals and Quotes’ section of the site
- Select the opportunity from the list. Tender Documents for download are found in the Documents tab.
- If you have any issues logging in to the Atamis system, please phone the helpdesk on +44 29 2280 9277 or Raise a Support Ticket
Link to documents:
Timeline
18 Sept 2026 → 4 Jan 2027 · 8 dates- Planning notice published38 days ago18 Sept 2026, 13:34 BST
- Market engagement24 days ago2 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
UKRI are requesting that interested suppliers complete a pre-market engagement questionnaire to help determine interest and assess the market for UKRI-6349.
Participation in this Pre-Market Engagement exercise is voluntary and will not form part of a formal bid.
If you are interested, please email stfcprocurement@ukri.org to receive the pre-market engagement questionnaire and return completed form to the same email address by 11:00 GMT on Friday 2nd October 2026. Ensure you include the following in the subject line of the email: "EOI RFI UKRI-6349 Pre-Market Engagement Questionnaire".
- Tender notice published3 days ago23 Oct 2026, 11:13 BST
- Next notice expected3 days ago23 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today26 Oct 2026
- Clarification questions byin 15 days10 Nov 2026, 11:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 52 days17 Dec 2026, 11:00 GMT
- Contract startsin 69 days4 Jan 2027
- Award decision expected byin 70 days4 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
Notice history
7 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 18 Sept 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published18 Sept 2026, 13:34 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published23 Oct 2026, 11:13 BSTUK4
- Status changed to active23 Oct 2026, 11:13 BST
- Procurement method changed23 Oct 2026, 11:13 BST
- Deadline published: 17 Dec 2026, 11:00 GMT23 Oct 2026, 11:13 BST
- Tender notice published23 Oct 2026, 11:16 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published23 Oct 2026, 11:37 BSTUK4
Published amendments (2)
Update clarification deadline
Update link to our e-sourcing platform so suppliers can access the documents.
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2026-09: 1 release · 18 Sept 2026
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 (4)
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
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender