The North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) has published a tender notice to establish a new furniture framework for the supply of furniture across the public sector. The framework is known as NEPO411 and is intended to start on 1 September 2026 for a four year term, running to 31 August 2030.
For furniture manufacturers, resellers, fit out providers and installation partners, this is a wide route to market. It is designed for use by NEPO members and associate members, and NEPO also intends to make it available for a broad range of contracting authorities across the UK, including local authorities, NHS bodies, emergency services, and education establishments.
What is being procured
NEPO is seeking suppliers for supply, delivery and installation across five lots:
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Office furniture and home working
Includes office seating, desks, tables, desk screens, monitor arms and storage solutions. It also covers reception, conference and dining spaces, and home working requirements. -
Educational and library furniture
For nursery, early years, primary, secondary, higher and further education settings. The scope includes dining, library and bespoke solutions. -
Residential furniture for social care settings
For care homes, social housing providers and council tenancies, including immediate provision for temporary accommodation. It can also include white goods, kitchen appliances and household items like utensils, cutlery and crockery where required. -
Tough furniture
Robust furniture for challenging environments such as mental health units, probation hostels and SEN schools, where safety, resilience and longevity are critical. -
Ergonomic furniture and associated services
Ergonomic chairs, desks and accessories, including compliance with relevant standards, plus associated services.
Across all lots, suppliers will be asked to indicate whether they can supply recycled or refurbished furniture and associated circular services. In the Find a Tender notice, NEPO notes that any assessment of recycled or refurbished options at call off will rely on separately published award criteria for those call offs.
Commercial and operational headlines
The total estimated value shown is £160,000,000 including VAT. The framework will be multi supplier, with maximum supplier numbers set per lot:
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Lot 1: 20 suppliers
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Lot 2: 15 suppliers
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Lot 3: 15 suppliers
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Lot 4: 10 suppliers
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Lot 5: 20 suppliers
NEPO also states a contract rebate arrangement, with the maximum fee taken by NEPO not exceeding 1% of invoice value for orders placed through the framework.
Pricing is intended to apply nationally. NEPO also states that pricing will be fixed from the framework start for a minimum period of seven months to 31 March 2027, with annual price increases considered thereafter where a supplier can demonstrate transparent justification.
Call offs may be awarded with or without further competition, and NEPO describes an “objective mechanism” approach that can support direct award where objectively justifiable reasons apply.
Key dates and how to bid
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Enquiry deadline: 19 March 2026, 12:00pm
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Tender submission deadline: 2 April 2026, 12:00pm
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Estimated award decision date: 30 July 2026
Tenders must be submitted electronically via NEPO’s OPEN eTendering platform.
What the evaluation tells you about how to position your bid
Award criteria show Quality 60% and Price 40%, with quality including 10% for social value. This is a clear signal that this is not a race to the bottom.
Suppliers who score well tend to do three things consistently:
1) Make delivery feel controlled
Furniture frameworks often rise and fall on logistics and install. Your bid should be specific about lead times, delivery booking, site constraints, packaging removal, snagging, and how you manage large programmes like school refits or accommodation changeovers.
2) Show product continuity and substitution controls
Public sector buyers want stable ranges for repeat buys. Explain how you manage discontinued lines and substitutions, and how you retain quality and consistency if specifications evolve.
3) Treat circular options as a real service line
Because NEPO is asking about recycled and refurbished capability, it is worth setting out your practical offer. That might include take back, refurbishment, remanufacture, reuse schemes, and auditable reporting.
How Thornton and Lowe can support
If you are targeting one or more lots, Thornton and Lowe can help you build a bid that scores strongly against the 60/40 split, with a clear evidence plan and a delivery model that feels reliable.
For sector specific support, our furniture tenders support can help shape and write high scoring responses for supply and installation frameworks. For wider framework strategy, our guidance on framework agreements can help you plan how you will win call offs once you are appointed, not just how to get onto the agreement.
