Advertising and Seeking Tenders for Building Works

The procurement process

Advertising and seeking tenders for the building works forms part of your Procurement Strategy, which Historic England must approve. You can use our 'Procurement Strategy' form for this purpose.

Appointments must be made following the relevant processes set out below, which depend on the overall cost of your project.

It is important for your professional adviser to determine whether the contract value of your project will be over the services or works threshold, including VAT (see the GOV.UK website for the up-to-date services threshold).

Where you anticipate several phases, your professional adviser should add up the total contract value to determine which threshold applies. Where the expected value is just below a threshold, you may want to follow the process for that threshold in case the cost does increase.

Small projects

Small projects up to £12,000 including VAT are unlikely to need to be advertised and go through a tender process. But it will be necessary to demonstrate good value for money. This could be done by obtaining 1 to 3 written quotations on the basis of an open and transparent process which clearly states the criteria (where applicable) upon which the contract will be awarded.

Contracts above £12,000 and below the services threshold

Where the total contract value is expected to be above £12,000 but below the services threshold, including VAT (see the GOV.UK website for the up-to-date services threshold). For reference from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2025, the services threshold is £139,688 (including VAT). The procurement process will involve seeking at least 3 written tenders. You can also follow a process to advertise your opportunity if desired, see ‘Advertising’ below.

Your professional adviser will advise and undertake the tasks needed to do this on your behalf.

The procurement process chosen for your project should be based upon the advice of your main professional adviser, having due regard for the nature/complexity and value of the works, and be in accordance with the process submitted to and agreed by Historic England on our 'Procurement Strategy' form, which is required as a condition of our grant.

Tenders must be sought on the basis of an open and transparent single-stage process. It should be made clear to bidders in the invitation to tender documentation what criteria and weightings will be applied when evaluating bids and awarding the contract. Also, feedback to the unsuccessful suppliers should be provided.

We recommend that grant recipients do not necessarily seek to appoint the cheapest supplier, but instead consider other factors such as quality of service, as well as the cost.

We recommend that you follow the process set out below:

1. Advertise or obtain at least 3 written tenders from suppliers with experience of working with historic buildings and monuments, and this requirement must be included in the tender documentation /assessment criteria. The tender documentation will need to contain details of the proposed selection and award criteria (for example, price only, or quality and price).
2. Tenders should be obtained on the basis of a relevant standard form of written contract e.g. JCT Intermediate
3. Evaluate the tenders received on the basis of the criteria set out in the invitation to tender documentation
4. Finally, award the works contract on the basis set out in points 2 and 3 above
5. Provide feedback to the unsuccessful suppliers

Contracts above the services threshold and below the works threshold

The procurement should follow the process outlined above including advertising (see ‘Advertising’ below) and seeking tenders for below the services threshold, in addition:

Contracting Authorities, such as local authorities and public bodies shall follow the permitted procurement procedure for above threshold as determined by the Procurement Act 2023 (‘the Act’).

Other organisations that are not bound by the Act and not able to use the central digital platform shall clearly set out their process for achieving sufficient and wide-ranging advertisement of the requirement. This will be following one of the procedures below:

a. An open procedure, which is a single-stage procedure whereby any interested party can submit a tender and the contracting body will decide whom to award the contract to on the basis of that tender

b. Two-stage procurement process which includes a separate stage which clearly sets out the number of suitably experienced contractors who will be invited to tender and outlines how the shortlist will be chosen through the Conditions of Participation.

Advertising

The purpose of advertising is to extend the opportunities for suitable suppliers to compete for publicly funded works.

Your invitation to tender can be advertised online or using more traditional channels (for example, in specialist magazines and newspapers), or both.

For local authorities and public bodies, the central digital platform (CDP) is where all UK contracting authorities publish information relating to procurement.

Suppliers who respond to your advertisement should be scored against the selection criteria listed in your tender documents.

Large projects

For very large projects, where the estimated value of the works exceeds the published threshold for works current at the time of the procurement, there is a requirement for contracting authorities to advertise on the central digital platform.

Under the Act, there is a distinction between works and services. We are satisfied that grant-aided repairs can be treated as works. You are, therefore, advised to check the detailed guidance on the GOV.UK website and the current thresholds for publicly funded works on this page of the GOV.UK website. If you think your project is one of these large projects, your local Historic England office will provide further advice, and in some cases can provide support with advertising the opportunity.

Contact us

For further guidance, please contact your local Historic England office.