Associated British Ports is preparing a multi-supplier professional services framework to support project, engineering, property and specialist advisory requirements across its port estate. The draft article was too narrow in positioning this mainly for architects and surveyors. In practice, this is likely to interest a wider consultancy market, including engineering, planning, project management, cost, property and environmental specialists. If you are weighing up whether to bid, Thornton & Lowe can help with bid writing services and framework agreement support.
The opportunity is listed on Find a Tender. Suppliers should check the live notice and procurement documents before committing bid resource, as deadlines, lots and buyer clarifications can change during the process.
What the opportunity covers
- regional project support services and multidisciplinary consultancy support
- design, engineering, architecture, surveying and planning services
- property, cost, commercial and project-related advisory services
- marine, landside and environmental advisory inputs where required
- regional and specialist lots where suppliers may need to choose their strongest route
Who should be looking at it
The best-fit suppliers will be professional services firms with strong infrastructure, maritime, industrial, property or public-sector-adjacent experience. Smaller consultancies should pay close attention to the lot structure, because a targeted lot may be more realistic than trying to cover the full estate.
Quick facts
- Buyer: Associated British Ports
- Planned route: multi-supplier professional services framework
- Estimated value: £90m including VAT, subject to the live notice
- Term: up to eight years, subject to the final tender documents
What to focus on in the bid
Suppliers should avoid writing a generic consultancy bid. The submission needs to show an understanding of operational port environments, commercial constraints and the need to manage safety, continuity and stakeholder interfaces while projects are delivered.
- port, estate or complex infrastructure experience that is directly comparable
- lot-specific credentials, rather than a generic professional services response
- clear discipline coverage, named technical leads and quality assurance arrangements
- capacity to work across multiple live projects without stretching resource
- commercial controls, programme management and stakeholder communication
- evidence of safety, environmental and operational awareness in live environments
Bid planning points
Before investing time in the submission, map the requirement against your strongest evidence, named team, accreditations, delivery model and pricing position. Our government framework agreement consultancy support can help you shape that decision and avoid spending time on a framework that is not commercially realistic.
How Thornton & Lowe can help
Thornton & Lowe supports suppliers with bid/no-bid decisions, framework strategy, compliance checks, response planning and full bid writing. We can help you decide whether this opportunity is worth pursuing, identify the strongest lot or route, and turn your evidence into a clear, evaluator-focused submission.
If this framework is a good strategic fit, early planning will make the bid easier to manage and improve the quality of your submission. Speak to Thornton & Lowe for practical, commercially focused support.
