How to Win Building Work Tenders

Posted on 4th November 202116th August 2022 by John Hudson

What do you need to know about building work tenders?

Are you wondering how to win building work tenders for your business? Tendering for contracts can open many doors for your business – but only if you win the work. So, how can you make sure that your business is successful?

This blog will tell you everything you need to know to secure building work tenders for your business.

How do you win building work tenders for your business?

Here are some things you can do to increase your chances of success when bidding on building work tenders:

Include case studies in your tender response

To win building work tenders, you need to show the buyer that your business is most suitable for the contract. To do that, you need to submit 2 – 3 case studies in your bid response, ideally from the last 3 – 5 years.

Case studies should demonstrate your suitability for the work. They should be similar in size and scope to the contract at hand. If they aren’t relevant to what the buyer is looking for, they won’t increase your chances of success.

Be the MEAT

For successful tendering, your business needs to be the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). What does this mean? Well, buyers are looking for the best value for money. They want to choose a supplier that offers the best services for the lowest price.

However, this doesn’t mean that you should price your services low just to win the tender. Pricing your services too low could prevent you from meeting the buyer’s quality standards. Or if you win the contract, you might have to ask for additional funding down the line. Neither of these options will impress the buyer!

Instead, show the buyer that your business can offer an outstanding service for a competitive price. Added value will increase your chances of winning building work tenders for your business.

Provide qualifications

With building work tenders, buyers often want to see evidence of your relevant qualifications and accreditations in your response.

As you already know, accidents can and do happen on building and construction sites. Therefore, it’s crucial that your business is complying with the relevant health and safety standards. The qualifications and accreditations could include:

ISO 9001; 14001; 18001
BIM
SSIP
IOSH
Constructionline
CHAS
Subcontractor.

To increase your chances of success, you should be prepared to submit evidence of your qualifications in your tender response.

Prepare your social value responses

To win building work tenders, you need to prepare your social value responses. In tendering, social value has a minimum weighting of 10%, but could potentially hold a weight of up to 30%. The three main components of social value are:

Environmental
Social
Economic.

It’s important you demonstrate your social value clearly and thoroughly to the buyer. For example, how will your business work to reduce waste for the duration of the project?

Social value is particularly important after the COVID-19 pandemic. Buyers want to see how your organisation will prevent any risks caused by the virus. So, it’s important to reference this in your bid response.

Study the buyer’s specifications

Our final tip for winning building work tenders is to study the buyer’s specifications. To secure the tender, it’s crucial that you answer the buyer’s questions in detail. Otherwise, you risk including irrelevant information in your response, which won’t do your business any favours.

It’s also important that you consider word counts or page limits set by the buyer. This indicates how much detail the buyer is expecting from you.

Where can you find building work tenders?

Finding building work tenders for your business can be a lengthy, time-consuming process. That’s why we’ve decided to simplify the process for you. With the Construction Tenders portal, sourcing tendering opportunities has never been so easy!

The portal is an opportunity tracking platform where we source all the construction and building tenders throughout the UK. We manually upload them in one convenient place, leaving you to focus on your business.

Other benefits include of subscribing to Construction Tenders include:

Receiving daily updates of available tenders, direct to your inbox.
Access to all private and public sector opportunities in the UK.
The ability to filter building contracts opportunities by keyword, budget, location and more.
No reliance on unreliable CPV codes or algorithms. We manually upload each tender making sure that you have access to 100% of building tenders.
Access to your own Account Manager. They can answer any questions or queries you may have about the tendering process.
Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
20-minutes free bid management consultancy each month.

Here are just a few examples of past building work tenders on our Construction Tenders portal:

Medical Records Building Works

NHS South West-Acutes – South West – Budget: £30k

WHC – Minor Building Works

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council – Eastern – Budget: £2.4million

Building Works – General Repairs

London Borough of Islington – London – Budget: £5million

Building Works for Temporary Accommodation for Colaiste Dun An Ri

Cavan and Monaghan Education & Training Board – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

FM Reactive & Planned Maintenance Building Works

North Wales Police – Wales – Budget: Undisclosed

Book a Demo with Construction Tenders

Book a free live demo of Construction Tenders today. As a client, you’ll receive a daily construction leads bulletin straight to your inbox when new building tenders are uploaded.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

So, now you know how to win building work tenders for your business. For tendering success, it’s vital that you include relevant case studies, be the MEAT and provide your appropriate qualifications and accreditations. And don’t forget how important it is to prepare your social value responses and study the buyer’s specifications!

If you’ve tried the tips above and still aren’t seeing success, we can help.

Need assistance when looking to tender for building work?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning tender response for construction contracts in-house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help optimise your chances of success. They know what buyers are looking for in your tender response and how to best convey it.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four levels of bid writing support services. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or need your response proofread before you submit, we can help. We offer:

A Tender Writing service
A Tender Ready programme
The Tender Improvement package
Tender Mentor

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, helping you identify tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when you tender for building work.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
Pre-market and award engagement notices are monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable construction tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

All of the above.
Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

A Guide to New Construction Tenders

Posted on 12th July 202116th August 2022 by John Hudson

How to win new construction tenders

Are you wondering how to find new construction tenders? There are plenty of opportunities out there, but how do you find them? When you do find a suitable opportunity for your business, how do you win the bid?

This guide will tell you how to find new construction contracts in the UK and offer tips for winning your next bid.

What type of construction tenders are there?

If you’re looking for new construction tenders, you might be wondering what type of contracts are out there.

Billions of pounds have been invested in the construction industry across the UK. This has increased the number of tendering opportunities out there. Especially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as more businesses are relying on tenders to grow their business.

Buyers may require a supplier for a number of reasons, including:

Supply of goods
Works
Utilities
Services

You can tender for contracts in various sub-sectors, including:

The process of bidding for new construction tenders

To win construction tenders, you need to understand how to apply for them. The tendering process will seem complicated at first. However, it can be broken down into simple, easy to manage steps.

PAS-91

The first step in bidding for new construction tenders is completing the PAS-91.

In 2010, the UK construction industry launched the ‘standard selection questionnaire’. This is an industry-specific, standardised document that is supposed to streamline the tendering process. Basically, it’s a specialised PQQ. The document is widely known as the Publicly Available Specification, or PAS 91.

The PAS-91 removes the need for various questionnaires. Instead, you can focus your time and resources on a single document.

However, the idea behind the PAS-91 is the same as a PQQ. The buyer uses this to shortlist suppliers, so only those capable of delivering the contract progress to the next stage.

Invitation to tender

If you pass the PAS-91 stage, the next stage of bidding for new construction tenders is responding to the ITT.

The ITT, which stands for invitation to tender, is released by the buyer. Suppliers need to respond to the ITT, demonstrating why their company is the best to deliver the contract.

An ITT could include:

The form of a tender
Preliminaries (including pre-construction information and site waste management plan)
Contract or contract conditions
Employer’s information requirements
A tender pricing document
A drawing schedule
Design drawings
Specifications

Submit your tender response

The final stage of bidding for new construction tenders is to submit your tender response.

Your tender response should include details of the following:

Methods
Your pricing
How you’ll meet the requirements
Supporting documents, such as case studies, policies and procedures

Win a new construction tender with these helpful tips:

Your company should be the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)

To win a new construction tender, your company needs to be the Most Economically Advantageous Tender. Basically, this means that your company will provide the best quality services for the lowest price.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the cheapest price will win. It’s all about finding the supplier who offers the best value for money.

Carefully read the buyer’s specifications

When you find a new construction tender for your business, it’s important that you carefully read through the buyer’s specifications.

The buyer needs to see that your company is capable of delivering the contract. If you don’t read the specifications, you may miss key details that are important for the bid. You might miss crucial information from your tender response.

Give yourself enough time

New construction tenders will take up a lot of your time. So, to win your next bid, you need to give yourself enough time to produce your response.

This is particularly important for construction tenders. The buyer may ask you to provide a drawing schedule or even design drawings as part of your bid. The last thing you want is to submit an incomplete bid because you ran out of time. Giving yourself plenty of time ensures that you don’t rush through the tender.

Proofread your response

When faced with a long document, it can be easy to miss mistakes and errors. Especially if you produced the document yourself. That’s why it’s so important to proofread your response when bidding for new construction tenders.

A tender response full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors won’t impress the buyer. In fact, you’ll probably lose marks. To make sure this doesn’t happen, you should ask someone else to proofread your response for you.

Ask for feedback

So far, we’ve offered you tips for winning a new construction tender. What should you do if you’re unsuccessful?

If you don’t win the bid, ask the buyer for feedback. Understanding where you went wrong could be the key to winning your next bid. You know how to improve for your next tendering opportunity.

Where can you find new construction tenders?

Are you looking for new construction tenders? Use Construction Tenders to find your next opportunity.

Construction Tenders is one centralised, easy-to-navigate portal hosting public and private construction leads and tendering opportunities.

You don’t need to rely on CPV Codes. Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload tenders from thousands of websites, making it easier for you to find them. You can find the best tender for you by filtering the results by budget, keyword and location.

Here are previous construction tenders sourced on our portal:

Supply of Constructional Timber (Marine Grade)

Waterways Ireland (CA) – Republic of Ireland – Budget: £100k

General Construction Multi Trade – Housing & Residential (20% VAT)

Homes for Haringey – London – Budget: £5million

Construction of 2 x 80m2 Mainstream Classrooms

St Patrick’s National School – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

Construction of a Cookery School Including All Ancillary Site Works & Services

Fourth Nature Ltd – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

Household Waste Recycling Centre & Waste Transfer Station Middlemore Lane, Aldridge Construction & Fryers Road, Bloxwich Redevelopment

Walsall Council e-Tendering – West Midlands – Budget: Undisclosed

A subscription to Construction Tenders will provide your business with:

Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities within the construction industry.
An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about competitive tendering in construction.
A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
20-minutes free bid management consultancy each month.

Get in touch today to book a free live demo.

Want to save even more time? Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrade to Discover Elite to optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. The Ultimate Time Saver and Become a Pre-Bid Master packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. They can help save you even more time when searching for new construction tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers:

An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics.
A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities.
Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package offers your business:

All of the above.
Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Tender for Construction Projects

Posted on 14th June 202121st March 2022 by John Hudson

How to tender for construction projects step by step guide

Wondering how to tender for construction projects? In each industry, the tendering process can slightly differ. If you’re tendering in the construction industry and you’re unsure of the process, we can help you. We’ve put together a blog on things you need to know about tendering for construction projects.

Construction tenders are essentially public contract opportunities. In construction, an invitation to tender may be issued for a number of reasons to procure the likes of:

Services
Goods
Works
Utilities

Documents required for tenders for construction projects

Documents for tenders for construction projects may be prepared for a range of contracts such as:

Equipment supply
Main construction contracting including the design by the contractor
Demolition
Enabling works

Types of tenders for construction projects

No matter the service or goods being sought the tendering process can come in many formats. Types of tenders include:

Open tendering

In open tendering contracts are first advertised giving notice to anyone wanting to submit a tender. Open tenders usually provide an equal opportunity for any business to submit a tender.

Selective tendering

Pre-selected potential suppliers are invited to tender. They are assessed and approved as being able to fulfil the required work. Selective tendering is generally only used for specialist works or suitable companies.

Negotiated tendering

This is when a client reaches out to a single supplier. It could be because they’ve worked together previously, or they are a specialist in that area of expertise. Working with a supplier they already know can be reassuring for them as they know they can trust them.

Serial tendering

Serial tendering is when tenders are submitted based on typical quantities or schedule of works. The documents will detail the buildings that would be covered by the works.

Framework tendering

Framework tendering involves documents that establish the scope of the works or services required during a certain time period.

Single-stage and two-stage tendering

Single-stage tendering is the most common route. It means all the information required by the supplier to submit their bid is available.

Two-stage tendering is useful as it allows the early appointment of a supplier or specialist. In the first stage, the supplier and the buyer can make an agreement between themselves.

Public sector tendering

Most tendering opportunities are published by public sector departments. This is because most publicly funded organisations have to spend their money equally and wisely. They have to create fair and equal opportunities for suppliers competing for the bid.

Strong examples can help you win your bid

When tendering for construction projects the buyer wants evidence to see what you’re capable of. Always back up what you’re saying with evidence. Providing good examples of previous work can help you win a construction contract. Some examples may include:

References from clients
Before and after photos of a projects
Awards and nominations
Completed risk assessments

What to do if you’re unsuccessful with your bid?

Tendering for construction projects can be a competitive market as there is a lot of competition out there. Everyone wants to prove why they should win the bid so don’t be disheartened if you lose the bid. Asking for feedback can help you understand where you lost marks and help you improve for next time. There are a number of reasons you may have lost the bid including:

Not answering the question fully
Spelling and grammar errors
Not concise or clear
Not including everything requested

Asking for feedback shows the client that you are committed to improving your bid writing. We recommend meeting with your team who worked on the bid. Discuss what went wrong and how you can work together to improve on the next bid. It’s important everyone knows how they can turn those weaknesses into strengths.

The most important thing to remember when tendering for a construction project is to prepare as much as possible. Give yourself plenty of time to read documents and understand the bid at hand. If you rush the tendering process, you’ll find yourself unsuccessful with the bid. Be prepared and read carefully!

The more you go through the tendering process, the better you will become at it.

Need help to tender for construction projects?

Finding the right tender for your business can take a large amount of time out of your day. There are thousands of websites posting multi-sector opportunities and searching for leads can turn into a full-time job. Each one may have its own portal, login or password. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Construction Tenders is one centralised and easy-to-navigate portal hosting exclusive, public and private construction leads and tendering opportunities. Gone are the days of relying on inaccurate CPV Codes! Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload tenders from thousands of websites across the UK. You’re able to filter and search the results by budget, keyword, location and more, streamlining the process.

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities within the construction industry.
An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about competitive tendering in construction.
A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
20-minutes for free consultancy with one of our Bid Writers each month.

We also source opportunities for services including;

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

A Guide to Construction Tenders Online

Posted on 9th June 202116th August 2022 by John Hudson

Opportunities for construction tenders online

There are thousands of opportunities for finding construction tenders online. However, it can be hard knowing where to start. We appreciate, all the information out there can be overwhelming. We put this guide together to help you understand construction tenders and the opportunities out there.

Construction tenders are essentially public contract opportunities. In construction, an invitation to tender (ITT) may be issued to procure:

Services
Goods
Works
Utilities.

When you’ve been searching for construction tenders online you’ve probably noticed how diverse the opportunities are. Tenders are often published for services including:

Roofing
Demolition
Plumbing
Electrical
Groundworks
Design and build
Repairs and maintenance
Project management and many more.

What is the process of winning a construction tender?

The construction industry can be quite savvy when it comes to tendering. So, we’ve broken down the process to help you make sense of it.

The standard process is as follows:

PAS91 or PQQ

A PAS91 is essentially the construction sector’s answer to a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ). This process is simply to shortlist the suppliers who qualify to deliver the contract. Be prepared to provide company details, compliance information and financial information.

Invitation to tender

Once you pass this initial stage, the buyer will usually release the invitation to tender. This allows you to respond to the tender and submit a final bid.

An invitation to tender may include:

The form of a tender
Preliminaries (including pre-construction information and site waste management plan)
Contract or contract conditions
Employer’s information requirements
A tender pricing document
A drawing schedule
Design drawings
Specifications.
Clarification

Clarification questions can be asked via the portal the tender will be submitted through.

You can remain anonymous when asking clarification questions, so your competitors don’t know it is you. Staying up to date with answers is important as it could change the way you respond to the bids. Remember to make a note of the clarification deadline as it could be weeks before the final submission date.

Submission

Once the bid is complete, it’s time to submit it. Your response will include methods, the price for supplying goods/services, and responses to how you meet the requirements. You will often also be required to submit supporting documents such as case studies, policies and procedures.

What to expect when bidding for construction contracts in the UK?

You’ve probably found hundreds of construction tenders online. This is because they are constantly being uploaded. Thanks to the billions of pounds invested in the construction industry across the UK. Recently, more businesses are turning towards tendering as a way of growing their business due to the impact of COVID-19.

Financial standing and health and safety procedures are some examples of what is to be expected in construction contracts.

What to look for in construction bid sites

We still have more information about construction tenders online. What should you be looking for to find the best construction bid site for your organisation? We’ve put together 7 things you should be checking for:

The portal doesn’t rely on CPV codes

Common procurement vocabulary (CPV). An 8-digit code that allows buyers to classify what they are procuring. They are often used incorrectly, leading to extra time being wasted, wading through irrelevant tenders.

The portal manually tracks construction contracts

At Construction Tenders, our opportunity trackers manually search thousands of sources each day. Instead of relying on CPV codes, they read and upload each tender manually, ensuring maximum relevance.

The system focuses on your industry

Most bid sites source tenders for all industries so there’s a chance you will see opportunities that aren’t irrelevant. Construction Tenders is dedicated to the construction industry, therefore, cutting out irrelevant information.

Allows for remote working in teams

Remote working has changed the way businesses operate in many ways. Especially since lockdown as most businesses have had to adapt to remote working. Our portal can be accessed anywhere anytime.

You’re supported by an account manager

You will have a dedicated account manager to offer support and guidance and answer any queries you may have.

You have access to virtual learning

Our Tender VLE service is free and offers your business expert advice about tendering. We offer video masterclasses, fact sheets, blogs and templates to help with the tender process.

You can outsource bid writing if needed

Some people struggle with writing. If you want to win a bid, you need a good writer to help you. We have developed Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division. This service helps our clients through the bidding process every step of the way. Our team are exceptional Bid Writers who assist businesses in multiple sectors to write compelling and technical narratives. Our bid writers are highly experienced with over 60 years of experience collectively and an 87% success rate. We have an extensive range of experience in the construction industry.

We source Construction Tenders on a daily basis from thousands of buyers, across the UK. Our goal is to save you both time and money manually searching for new construction leads. Our clients receive daily alerts when tenders are released. They also have 24hr access to our Construction Tenders portal.

Need help with construction tenders online?

Finding the right tender for your business can take a large amount of time out of your day. There are thousands of websites posting multi-sector opportunities and searching for leads can turn into a full-time job. Each one may have its own portal, log in or password. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities within the construction industry.
An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about competitive tendering in construction.
A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
20-minutes free bid management consultancy each month.

Get in touch today to book a free live demo.

Finding Success in Procurement and Tendering in Construction

Posted on 7th June 202121st March 2022 by John Hudson

Procurement and tendering in construction: a guide to success

Are you currently in the process of procurement and tendering in construction but don’t know how to be successful? Tendering can be hard especially in the construction industry as it’s such a competitive market. If you’re sitting scratching your head, wondering how is this achievable, we can help you! We’ve put together a guide on how to be successful in procurement and tendering in construction.

The process of procurement and tendering in construction

Buyers may require a supplier for a contract for a number of reasons including:

Supply of goods
Works
Utilities
Services.

The process starts with an invitation to tender (ITT). This will include a letter to invite interested parties to tender. It will include the following:

Pre-construction information
Contract
Tendering pricing document
Design drawings
Any other specifications.

For buyers that use pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs), they should be completed before the invitation to tender is released. PAS91 is a standardised PQQ in the construction industry.

What’s included in the bid response?

When submitting the bid response for construction contracts in the UK, the buyer is expecting a number of things in your response. These will include:

Tender pricing document – supplier’s rates, costs and totals
Construction phase plan – outlining how to deal with health and safety procedures
Design proposals
Programme of works highlighting the order in which tasks will be carried out
Any procedures that need to take place during the project
Demonstration of capability – what is your methodology?
Management organisation
Plant and labour resources and how you will source them
Examples of contracts you have won in the past
References and reviews from other completed projects.

Tips for success in procurement and tendering in construction

Be the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)

Each bid for construction contracts in the UK will be evaluated in the same way. This is known as MEAT. The buyer is looking to award the contractor who can provide the best value throughout their bid. This doesn’t necessarily mean being the cheapest. You want to provide added value to the building works.

Meet the specifications

If you don’t meet the specification or requirements the buyer is asking for you won’t be successful. The buyer wants someone who can deliver exactly what they are asking for. They want you to back up what you’re saying with evidence and examples. Some examples may include:

References from clients
Before and after photos of a project
Awards and nominations
Completed risk assessments.

If the buyer is asking for a 500-word answer for one of the questions writing one paragraph won’t suffice. If they’ve asked for that many words, they are expecting a detailed answer. The buyer wants you to demonstrate why you should in the bid. The more in-depth answer you provide, the better you will score against the evaluation criteria.

Allow yourself plenty of time

The tendering process is very time-consuming, and people often misjudge that. When bidding for construction tenders, there several things to think about. You may be asked to present a drawing schedule or design drawings as part of your bid. This will take up more time than you think. We advise planning in advance so you can allocate sufficient time for each part of the process. If you rush your bid, it won’t reach its full potential.

Get feedback

If you have been unsuccessful with a bid, you need to know where you went wrong so ask for feedback. It’s important to find out where you lost out on marks and how you can improve for next time. Some examples of where you may have lost marks include:

Your pricing wasn’t right
You didn’t understand the questions fully
You didn’t provide enough case studies
Not concise or clear.

Proofread

We can’t stress enough how important it is to check over your work multiple times. It can be easy to make mistakes when you’re working through a long document. But not taking the time to proofread it before submitting it would be a bigger mistake. You will lose marks if you submit a bid that has spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. We suggest asking someone else to check over your work. A second pair of eyes may spot mistakes you missed. Be sure to put plenty of time aside to proofread.

Need help with procurement and tendering in construction?

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities within the construction industry.
An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about competitive tendering in construction.
A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
20-minutes for free consultancy with one of our Bid Writers each month.

We also source opportunities for services including;

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

4 Key New Bills Relevant to Government Construction Tenders

Posted on 17th May 202121st March 2022 by John Hudson

Government construction tender news

The Queen announced the government’s legislative agenda for 2021/22 and four bills that will impact government construction tenders. Almost 16% of UK construction spend is by the public sector.

The government have the current initiative of build back better in response to COVID-19 recovery. It sets out the significant investment in infrastructure, skills and innovation that levels up the UK. It is with the hope of transitioning towards net-zero ambitions.

Below are four key bills that are relevant to government construction contracts in the UK.

Building Safety Bill

The Building Safety Bill will make considerable reforms to the UK’s building safety regime. It will establish a Building Safety Regulator (BSR) to deliver a new approach to regulating the built environment. The Building Safety Bill will be critical to any construction project and government construction tenders.

The BSR will have the power to withdraw materials of products from the UK market. They can withdraw those that they deem to fall short of set safety standards, regulating the market. There will also be three “gateways” introduced at higher risk buildings at least 18 meters or 6 storeys high.

The three gateways are the:

Design Stage – prior to granted planning permission, the BSR will consult stakeholders to assess various design matters. These could be fire safety and water supply for example.
Construction Stage – The client will submit evidence to the BSR showing all building regulations relating to construction have been complied with.
Management Stage – the client will submit as built building information to the BSR. This information will include emergency safety and fire files and updated plans.

Environment Bill

The Environment Bill will obviously put the environment at the centre of the policy. The government has made considerable promises towards greener and more sustainable construction practices that are evident within government construction tenders.

The Environment Bill will introduce a framework for legally binding environmental targets, establishing a new independent Office for Environmental Protection. This further reinstates the current mandatory weighting on social value within government construction tenders. This minimum 10% social value weighting assesses the environmental, social and economic aspects of a tender.

The Bill will focus on reducing waste and revolutionise how we recycle, enhancing local powers to tackle environmental issues. These include pollution, securing water supplies and protecting nature to improve biodiversity.

Planning Bill

The Planning Bill will create a faster, simpler and more modern planning system. It’s to replace the current one, Section 106, that dates back to 1947. Instead, the Infrastructure Levy will be introduced. The plan is to deliver vital infrastructure whilst at the same time protect the nearby environment. This is likely to affect planning tenders and government construction tenders.

There will be an introduction of simpler and quicker frameworks. This will be for funding infrastructure that assesses environmental impacts and opportunities. A traffic light system will be introduced with the UK divided up by local councils. Areas will be designated for either:

Growth
Protection
Renewal

Procurement Bill

The Procurement Bill is probably the most relevant to government construction tenders. It will simplify procurement within the public sector, reforming the current regime. This will make public procurement even more accessible for SMEs, charitable and social enterprises. It hopes to encourage a more competitive and level playing field, allowing them to win public contracts.

The Queen outlines the government’s plans to replace the seven current procurement procedures with three:

Competitive Flexible Procedure
Open Procedure
Negotiated Procedure to be renamed as the Limited Tendering Procedure.

These new procedures will come into place in September 2021, hoping to improve transparency within public procurement.

Need assistance when writing your next government construction tenders?

It’s understandable that you may not always have the resources, time or experience to write a winning response in-house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help you win your next tender, securing a pipeline of work for your business.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. They offer four bid writing support services that can help you win more government construction contracts. Whether you’ve never tendered before or need your response proofread before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is perfect for those who have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to make sure you have everything you need in place to tender successfully. The 4-week programme offers your business:

A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders
Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding professionals
An organisation-wide Bid Library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies
Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing the results you want, our Tender Improvement package can help. The Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions. This package includes a 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders and additional tendering development services.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect construction tender for your business, why not send it over to us? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need someone to double-check it for errors, Tender Mentor can help. Our Bid Team will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They’ll also ensure that it’s in line with the specification before you submit.

Where can I find government construction tenders?

Finding the right construction tender for your business can take a large amount of time out of your day. Keeping track and checking daily can turn into a full-time job. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Below are previous government construction tenders sourced on our portal:

Lift Maintenance, Services & Repairs ITT

St Albans City & District Council- Scotland- Budget: Undisclosed

Scunthorpe, Burringham Road, Manor Park

North Lincolnshire Council- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Fixed Electrical Wiring Test and Inspection – Port of Ramsgate and The Royal Harbour

Thanet District Council- South East- Budget: £46,000

Quick Quote – New Flooring to the Victoria Pier, Sea Terminal Building

Isle of Man Government- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Contract for Supply & Installation of New Play Equipment for Parrys Park / Grosvenor Heights

City & County of Swansea- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities within the construction industry.
An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about government construction tenders.
A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
20-minutes for free consultancy with one of our Bid Writers each month.

We also source opportunities for services including;

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Upgrade to Discover Elite

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid strategy.
Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable construction tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

All of the above.
Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Competitive Tendering in Construction

Posted on 13th May 202121st March 2022 by John Hudson

Competitive tendering in construction and how to succeed

Competitive tendering in construction is the most common method of procurement in the industry. In the past, the construction industry has gained a bad reputation for its low-price tendering methods. However, now competitive tendering processes are used in construction such as frameworks agreements.

Why is competitive tendering used in construction?

Competitive tendering in construction is used by a prospective supplier in response to an invitation to tender (ITT). Competitive tendering is used particularly by the public sector. The main objective of competitive tendering in construction is to obtain goods or services at the lowest cost. Now the public sector seeks to obtain goods or services that are the best value through open and fair competition.

Methods of assessing tenders other than the lowest cost include:

Best value
Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)
Mean value
Weighted selection criteria.

A competitive tendering is often done via open tendering in construction. This is one of the tender procedures where a buyer releases an ITT. A competing supplier can then respond to the open advertisement with their tender response.

Framework agreement

Framework agreements are used as a form of competitive tendering in construction that can benefit suppliers. Winning a place on a framework can secure your business a pipeline of work. Suppliers can have access to ongoing work whenever the buyer needs it. The benefit of being on a framework means suppliers don’t have to go through the whole process each time.

Framework agreements usually ask for multiple suppliers to deliver goods and services under one contact. It is a form of competitive tendering in construction used by the public sector. They can run for years at a time with the possibility of extension. Typically, a framework agreement is split into lots. Each lot represents a specific good, service, work or geographical location. Lots allow suppliers to apply for the specific good, service or region they specialise in.

Do you need help when it comes to competitive tendering in construction?

Writing a tender response for construction contracts can be overwhelming if you’re just starting out. If you’re not sure about where to begin we can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four levels of bid writing support services. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or need your response proofread before you submit, we can assist your needs.

Tender Writing

Tender Ready

A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders
Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding professionals
An organisation-wide Bid Library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies
Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

Tender Mentor

Where can I find construction tenders for my business?

Below are previous construction tenders sourced on our portal:

Isolation House at Westonbirt Arboretum

Forestry England- South West- Budget: £55,000

Building and Maintenance Services Contract

St Albans City & District Council- Eastern- Budget: Undisclosed

Estates Related Construction Framework at De Montfort University, Leicester, LE1 9BH

De Montfort University- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Outdoor Storage Room – CPTC

Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

BBV HS2 MWCC North – Sewer Diversion Tunnelling Design & Construction

Balfour Beatty VINCI JV HS2- West Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities within the construction industry.
An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about competitive tendering in construction.
A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
20-minutes for free consultancy with one of our Bid Writers each month.

We also source opportunities for services including;

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Upgrade to Discover Elite

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable construction tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

All of the above.
Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

3 Myths You’ll Hear When You Tender for Building Work

Posted on 11th May 202121st March 2022 by John Hudson

Don’t fall for these myths when you tender for building work

We often get asked a lot of questions surrounding how to tender for building work. A lot of businesses seem to have misconceptions about what’s required and expected when bidding. Tendering for work can help secure a pipeline of work for your business.

Myth 1: “Only big construction companies can tender for building work”

This is a common myth that is constantly floating around the procurement industry. However, this simply is not true and if you’re an SME you shouldn’t be put off by tendering for work. In fact, the government has addressed this issue. They have the aim of levelling the playing field between SMEs and big corporations.

The government has a pledge to spend £1 in every £3 with SMEs by 2022. This means that public sector organisations are actively looking to award contracts to smaller businesses. Moreover, they have social value targets to promote local SMEs to tender for local opportunities.

This means if you’re an SME, you have a good chance of securing a contract for work. Once you’ve secured one tender for building work, you can build up your experience and grow your company. More contracts mean more experience, which leads you to being able to compete for bigger contracts.

Myth 2: “You have to search hundreds of websites daily to find tenders for building work”

Yes, this can be true, but only if you’re not utilising a smart tracking tool. You don’t have to trawl through hundreds of different websites daily to source the right opportunity for your business. You should be using a site that hosts industry-specific unique, public and private tendering opportunities. The best tender websites won’t rely on CPV codes to track construction leads.

Manually sourcing and uploading opportunities allows for the most relevant tenders to be found. You can filter these results via keyword, budget and location allowing you to find the perfect tender for your business. Construction Tenders is one centralised, easy-to-navigate portal that does all of the above and more.

Below are previous tenders for building work sourced on our portal:

Holbeach Refurbishment Project

The Police & Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire- East Midlands- Budget: £300,000

Repairs Subcontractor Framework

Great Places Housing Group- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

L Block L0.07 Science Lab Refurbishment

University of Bedfordshire- Eastern- Budget: Undisclosed

Flat Roof Repairs – Niarbyl

Isle of Man Government- International- Budget: Undisclosed

M&E & Building Works Magma Lab

Cardiff University- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

What’s included in a 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders

All unique, public and private opportunities across the construction sector.
An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about how to tender for building work.
A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
20-minutes for free consultancy with one of our Bid Writers each month.

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a live demo of Construction Tenders.

We also source opportunities for services including;

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Myth 3: “The cheapest bid always wins”

It may have been true back in the day that the cheapest bid wins, however, that’s no longer the case. Not in public sector procurement anyway. This could very well be the case if tendering in the private sector. This is because private buyers are not bound by the same rules and regulations as the public sector.

In the public sector, the contract is awarded to the most economically advantageous tender. This is known as the MEAT and it means the buyer is looking at more than just price. They are looking for the tender that provides the most value for money. They’ll be looking at a combination of factors including, but not limited to:

Innovation
Technical ability
Quality
Price
Environmental factors
Ability to deliver on time
Sustainability
Accessibility
Social value.

Due to this, the quality of your written response counts, not just the price. Although, pricing your services right is important. You don’t want to undercut your competitors. A buyer won’t be best pleased if you under-price your services on your bid then go over budget on site. Therefore, it’s best to price your services competitively, but not overly cheap for the sake of it.

Need assistance when looking to tender for building work?

A Tender Writing service
A Tender Ready programme
The Tender Improvement package
Tender Mentor

Upgrade to Discover Elite

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable construction tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

All of the above.
Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Topographical Survey Tenders Explained

Posted on 1st May 202121st March 2022 by John Hudson

Topographical survey tenders and how to succeed

Any large-scale planning project will require a topographical surveying tender in order to procure a suitable surveyor. Even if you have submitted tenders in the past, you may have been unsuccessful. We understand that this can be disheartening. However, there are often a few simple improvements that can be made, which increase your chances of success.

The requirements for a topographical survey tender vary depending on the buyer’s needs or the reason for commissioning the survey. For example, they may publish topographical surveying tenders to procure a:

Survey to ascertain the boundary of a property
3D mapped survey
General land survey
Construction project layout.

Each one is unique to the project at hand. So, you will need to read the tender documents carefully if you’re thinking about applying.

A typographical survey tender will typically detail the following as a bare minimum:

The purpose of the survey
A plan outlining the area of land to be surveyed
Scope of work and specification
How the survey will be presented
How the survey will be delivered
Mobility plan and other practicalities including access and security.

You will likely need to pass a pre-qualification stage to establish that you meet the minimum eligibility criteria. This could be referred to as a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), a PAS91 or selection questionnaire (SQ). You will often need to disclose and attach your company’s:

Contact information
Economic and financial standing
Insurance
Equal opportunities and diversity policy
Environmental policy
Grounds for mandatory exclusion
Health and safety
Modern Slavery Act.

How is a topographical survey tender evaluated?

A topographical survey tender is typically split into three sections (when tendering in the public sector). These are:

Quality

The quality of your response always matters. Buyers will be expecting a high-quality response when tendering for construction contracts in the UK. Persuasion is key here. You should be convincing the contractor that you’re the best surveyor for the job. Demonstrate how you are professional, qualified and able to perform the contract on time and within budget.

Price

Pricing your construction bid right is important, and you should keep it realistic. A contractor won’t be best pleased if you quote one price, then go significantly over budget. Don’t try to undercut your competitors, as it may lead to a buyer questioning your legitimacy. You will be expected to include both the direct and indirect costs of the project and your services.

Social value

Social value has become an ever-important aspect of tendering. You should consider the environmental, economic and social aspects while performing the contract. Remember that the promises you may at this stage is contractually binding. Buyers will be expecting you to make promises you can keep. These should have the aim of:

Creating new jobs and promoting skills
Supporting COVID-19 recovery
Encouraging economic growth
Tackling economic inequality
Tackling unemployment
Reducing environmental impact
Levelling up the UK.

The weightings of these sections can vary. However, for public sector contracts, there will be a minimum mandatory weighting of 10% on social value. It’s important to remember that although the price might be weighted more, the quality of your response matters.

When formulating your tender response, you should remember to be:

Clear and concise
Hit as close to the word or page counts as possible
Avoid overly technical jargon
Don’t allow the buyer to make any assumptions about your business or anything in your answer. Leaving room for assumptions and allow for the wrong assumptions to be made.

Need assistance when writing your next topographical survey tenders?

If you’re still unsure about how to complete your tender response we can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four levels of bid writing support services. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or need your response proofread before you submit, we can help.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect topographical survey tender for your business, why not send it over to us? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Ready

A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders
Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding professionals
An organisation-wide Bid Library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies
Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

Tender Mentor

Where can I find topographical survey tenders for my business?

It’s worth noting that when searching for topographical survey tenders that you should also search for groundworks tenders. This is because topographical survey services may be included within a groundworks framework.

Finding the right tender for your business can take a large amount of time out of your busy day. You already have enough on your plate to be trawling through thousands of websites a day looking for tendering opportunities. Keeping track of the various portals, logins and passwords can turn into a full-time job! Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Construction Tenders is one centralised and easy-to-navigate portal. It hosts exclusive, public and private construction leads and tendering opportunities from thousands of websites across the UK. Gone are the days of relying on inaccurate CPV Codes! Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload unique, public and private sector opportunities. You’re able to filter and search the results by budget, keyword, location and more, streamlining the process.

Below are previous topographical survey tenders and groundworks tenders sourced on our portal:

Wavendon SLA Ground Works and Natural Turf Sports Pitch

Milton Keynes Council- South East- Budget: Undisclosed

CHARM – Groundworks

Accord Housing Association Ltd- West Midlands- Budget: £197,281

Multi Party Civil/Groundworks Framework for Projects from 100k up to €1m for AIT

Athlone Institute of Technology- Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Ballinasloe Flood Relief Scheme Topographical Survey

Office of Public Works (OPW)- Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Area 10 A56 Woodcliffe Cutting Topographical Survey

Highways England- North West- Budget: £11,000

A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business all unique, public and private sector opportunities. A dedicated Account Manager will be on hand. They can answer any questions you may have about topographical survey tenders or the procurement process in general.

A daily email bulletin will be sent straight to your inbox when new tenders are uploaded that day. Moreover, you will receive discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division. You are also entitled to 20-minutes of free consultancy with one of our Bid Consultants each month.

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a live demo of Construction Tenders.

We also source opportunities for services including;

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Upgrade to Discover Elite

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable construction tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

All of the above.
Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Open Tendering in Construction

Posted on 27th April 202118th July 2022 by John Hudson

Open tendering in construction: answering your FAQs

You may be wondering, what open tendering in construction is, and you wouldn’t be the only one. The procurement process, in general, can seem daunting if you’ve never tendered before. This blog will answer some frequently asked questions you may have about open tendering in construction.

What is open tendering in construction?

Open tendering in construction is a tendering procedure used within the public sector. Open tendering allows anyone to submit a tender to supply the goods, works or services that are required.

What is the open tendering procedure in construction?

The open tendering procedure in construction is a very simple, two-stage process:

An ITT is released

A contractor will release their invitation to tender (ITT) when they want to procure something. An interested potential supplier can then respond to the specification with their tender response. Each tender response will be trying to persuade the buyer that they are the best business for the job. Their ITT response will detail how they intend to carry out the work at hand.

The contract is awarded

After evaluating each bidder’s response, the buyer will then award the contract to the most economically advantageous tender. This is known as the MEAT and is the way in which the public sector award contracts. They seek the tenders that will provide the most value for money while performing the contract. MEAT evaluation means that the buyer is evaluating tender responses based on more than just cost. They will also be looking at a range of factors which can include:

Quality
Cost
Technical ability
Social value
Accessibility
Innovation
Sustainability
Environmental benefits
Customer service
Ability to deliver on time.

A contractor will note what each tender will be evaluated on within the tender documents and specification. Each aspect can be evaluated by the buyer on its own or combined, depending on the buyer’s needs. Open tendering can also be referred to as a single-stage tender process (discounting the contract award as a stage).

Why is open tendering used in construction?

Open tendering is used in construction in order for a buyer to procure simple goods or services. For more complex and larger projects, a pre-qualification process will likely be used. Pre-qualifications can come in a variety of forms such as pre-qualification questionnaires, selection questionnaires (SQ) or a PAS91.

What are the advantages of open tendering in construction?

Each tendering process has its own benefits and advantages. Open tendering in construction offers the greatest competition and allows smaller businesses to throw their hat in the ring. This encourages innovation and allows a buyer to view a greater range of proposals.

Need assistance when open tendering in construction?

If you’re still unsure about where to start with open tendering in construction, we can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four tender writing support packages. They have an 87% success rate and over 60 years of collective bid writing experience. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or simply need your response proofread before you submit – we can help.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect construction contract for your business, why not send it over to us? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Ready

A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders
Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding professionals
An organisation-wide Bid Library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies
Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your tender response and need someone to double-check it for errors, Tender Mentor can help. Our Bid Team will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They’ll also ensure that it’s in line with the specification before you submit.

Where can I find open tendering opportunities in construction?

Finding the right tender for your business can take hours out of your day. There are various portals and websites that require different login details and passwords. Keeping track of them all can turn into a full-time job! We have a time-saving tool that can optimise your tendering efforts allowing you time to focus on your business.

Construction Tenders is a portal that hosts all the live construction leads and tendering opportunities within the construction industry. Gone are the days of relying on inaccurate CPV codes! Our Opportunity Trackers source and upload exclusive, public and private sector opportunities from across the UK. You’re able to filter and search the results by keyword, budget, location and more, streamlining the process.

Below are previous construction tenders sourced on our portal:

GB-London: Refurbishment Works – Aston Street

Newlon Housing Trust- London- Budget: £500,000

Whole House Improvements – Beaumont Estate Lancaster

Lancaster City Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Rothienorman Kinbroom New Build Housing – 12 Units

Bancon Construction Limited- Scotland- Budget: Undisclosed

CFT: SE3490532B – Refurbishment of Kelly House Phase 2, UHD

CPD – Construction Health Projects- Northern Ireland- Budget: £400,000

Northfield Park Renovations

Blaby Parish Council- East Midlands- Budget: £60,000

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities in the construction industry.
A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new tenders are uploaded that day.
Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
20-minutes of free consultancy with one of our Bid Consultants each month.

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a live demo of Construction Tenders.

We also source opportunities for services including;

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Upgrade to Discover Elite

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable construction tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

All of the above.
Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Answers to your FAQs About Building Surveying Tenders

Posted on 22nd April 202121st March 2022 by John Hudson

Building surveying tenders and where to find them

Building surveying tenders are great opportunities to grow your business. However, they can seem confusing and complicated, particularly if you’ve never tendered before. Both the private and public sector release tenders for building surveying works and services.

Even if you have tendered for work before, you may have some questions and that’s perfectly normal. This blog will answer some of your frequently asked questions on building surveying tenders.

What services are expected from a building surveyor in building surveying tenders?

Building surveying tenders may be looking to procure the following services:

To support the design and build of building works.
Defect analysis, condition monitoring and design of solutions to building failures.
Conduct measured surveys of buildings preparation of drawings and legal mapping.
Provision of advice in relation to protected structures.
Provide a range of guidance in relation to the maintenance and repair of buildings.
Work with the Quantity Surveyor to deliver cost planning, tenders and contract administration of works.
Ensure the delivery of the design phase to RIBA 4.
Engage the services of a Structural Engineer to check the robustness of a design.
Attend project meetings.
Support the appointed Architect in preparing all design and detailed construction drawings.

What are building surveying framework agreements?

Sometimes, you can find building surveying tenders as part of a framework agreement. You may come across building surveying services as part of a larger framework for consultancy services. A framework agreement is a multi-supplier agreement that’s frequently used within the public sector. Frameworks can run for years at a time. They are a good way to secure a pipeline of work for your business if successful. Some may even have the possibility of an extension.

They are split into lots with each lot representing a specific good, work, service or geographical location. Lots allow suppliers to apply to the specific lots they specialise in or specific region they operate in. Depending on the building surveying tender agreement, a supplier may be eligible to apply for more than one lot. If this is the case, you’ll need to be prepared to provide evidence. You’ll have to demonstrate that your business has the capacity and resources to undertake the works across the selected lots.

Do I need to provide experience of previous contracts?

Typically, you will be required to detail evidence of your completion and experience of previous contracts. Buyers want to know that you’re qualified, practised and experienced in delivering contracts similar in scale and scope.

Contractors will ask for you to provide previous case studies of contracts you have completed within the last five years. They should be tailored to exhibit your business capabilities and skillset. Depending on the word count, you could also detail any challenges you overcame, demonstrating your problem-solving skills and flexibility. Remember, keep them relevant to the contract at hand, including examples that are similar in complexity and location if possible.

A useful way to structure your building surveying tenders case studies is by using the STAR format:

Situation – provide a brief context
Task – the work you faced
Action – what have you done?
Results – what were the results?

Will there be an opportunity to participate in a site visit?

You may be able to go on an optional or mandatory site visit prior to your tender submission. If this is an option, it’s highly recommended that you participate. Site visits give you an opportunity to see the proposed working environment with your own eyes. They can help you pick up on things you otherwise wouldn’t know and improve your tender response. They may even allow you to give more accurate pricing, gaining an insight into the buyer.

Do contractors care about the quality of my written response?

In short, yes. Even if the quality section is weighted less than cost buyers want to see a high-quality written response. You want your tender response to be persuasive. You need to convince the buyer that you’re the best business for the job. A stellar written response will also help you stand out from your competitors. You should aim for your response to be clear and concise. You should try and get your written response to meet as close to the word or page counts as possible.

Can I get help writing my next building surveying tenders?

Not every business has the time, resources or experience to write a winning response in-house. If that’s the case, outsourcing your next bid to tender writing specialists can help you secure your next construction contract.

Our sister company Hudson Succeed, are bid writing experts. They have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. They offer four bid writing support services that can help with your next tender response. Whether you’re completely new to tendering or need your bid response proofread before you submit – they can help.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect building surveying tender for your business, why not send it over to them? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Mentor

Tender Ready

A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders
Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding professionals
An organisation-wide Bid Library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies
Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

Where can I find building surveying tenders for my business?

Finding the right building surveying tenders for your business can take up a lot of your time. You already have enough on your plate running a business to worry about trawling through various websites. Each website or portal may require its own login and password and keeping track can turn into a full-time job. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was one, easy-to-navigate centralised portal that posts construction sector specific opportunities?

Enter…Construction Tenders!

Construction Tenders hosts all the live construction leads and tenders from across the construction industry. Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload tenders from thousands of websites in the UK. There’s no reliance on inaccurate CPV codes that often results in missed opportunities. You’re able to search and filter the results by location, budget, keyword and more. This allows you to find the perfect building surveying tenders to suit your business needs.

Below are previous building surveying tenders sourced on our portal:

1733/MR Building Surveying (Project) Estates and Facilities Management Consultancy Framework

University of Sheffield- Yorkshire and Humber- Budget: Undisclosed

Building Surveying Consultancy Framework

St.Helens Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Building Surveying Consultancy Services

University of Ulster- Northern Ireland- Budget: £600,000

Building Surveying Services

Bath and North East Somerset Council- South West- Budget: Undisclosed

Building Surveying Services for St Helens Council

St.Helens Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

What’s included in a subscription to Construction Tenders?

A 12-month subscription to our Construction Tenders portal offers your business:

Access to all unique, public and private sector opportunities across the construction sector.
An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about building surveying tenders.
A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a live demo of Construction Tenders.

We also source opportunities for services including;

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, optimising your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when searching for building surveying tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable building surveying tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

All of the above.
Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

What to Expect from Civil Engineering Tenders

Posted on 15th April 202121st March 2022 by John Hudson

Civil engineering tenders and where to find them

Civil engineering tenders are released by a broad range of organisations. Predominantly, they can be expected in the public sector and local councils are often procuring civil engineering works and services.

Civil engineering tenders can cover a broad scope of works and services. Often, they’re split into two broad categories:

Minor Civils and building works

These are typically used for minor works that are small and uncomplex construction projects. This could cover both new and repair and renovation works that are below £500,000 in value. These civil engineering tenders could cover activities and works such as:

Footpath and cycleway improvements
Flood alleviation and land drainage improvements
Environmental improvements
Highway improvements
Hard landscaping
Construction of above and below ground structures
Drainage works.

Major and complex works

These typically involve large one-off projects with a value over £500,000. Such civil engineering tenders often cover works such as:

Public buildings
Bridges
Coastal defences
Infrastructures such as drainage and flood defences.

RIBA planning and outline

Civil engineering tenders may require you to provide a RIBA Plan of Work outline for a certain stage. For example, this may be required for civil engineering tenders for new housing. This could include but isn’t limited to:

A detailed design of the work
Technical approvals
The main contract bid compliance checking
Works compliance and design checking
Design risk assessment
Full technical design and specification
Obtaining technical approval
Provision Sums for meetings
Project brief table
Health and safety.

Framework agreements

Civil engineering tenders can often be found as part of a framework agreement. Framework agreements are multi-supplier agreements often used within the public sector. The length of each framework agreement can vary from a few months to multiple years. Some even offer the possibility of extension. Due to this, securing a place on a framework agreement can be a lucrative opportunity for your business.

Framework agreements are split into different lots. Each lot can either be a specific good, service, work or geographical location. They allow suppliers to apply to be part of a wider contract without needing to supply all areas. The number of suppliers for each lot varies and can be anything from four suppliers for one lot to ten. Suppliers need only apply for the specific lot[s] they specialise in.

Depending on the buyer, suppliers may be able to bid on any or all of the framework lots available. This will be stated within the tender documents and tender specification released by the buyer. If this is an option, a supplier must be able to demonstrate that they’re able to undertake all works. They must have the appropriate capacity and resources to undertake the works across all selected lots. Civil engineering tender lots are typically split into geographical location and project value.

Past experience

Civil engineering tenders will likely require you to provide previous contract examples of work you have completed. They should be similar in complexity and scope and style. You may be asked for up to three examples within the last five years. They are often referred to as case studies and can strengthen your bid. Make sure you keep them relevant and include any challenges you overcame.

The contract will be awarded to the MEAT

As civil engineering tenders are frequent within the public sector, you should aim to be the MEAT. The MEAT stands for the most economically advantageous tender. This means the buyer is looking for a tender that provides the most value for money. A buyer will look at a combination of factors both individually and combined. These can include, but aren’t limited to, the following:

Innovation
Accessibility
Ability to deliver on time and within budget
Technical ability
Quality
Environmental and sustainable factors.

Social value

Local authorities civil engineering tenders now have a mandatory minimum 10% weighting on social value. It’s an important aspect of any public sector contract. The promises you make in the section can be contractually binding, so it’s not something you should gloss over. Social value is the social, environmental and economic aspects you plan to address during the contract. This could include:

COVID-19 recovery
Reducing waste
Creating new jobs and promoting skills
Tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions
Paying employee National Living Wage to tackle economic inequality
The equal opportunities policies you implement.

Company CVs

Construction contracts in the UK may require you to include detailed CVs of the team members proposed to work on the project. Contractors like to see that your employees are qualified, and you should demonstrate their suitability for the project at hand. Each CV should detail what the specific team member will be responsible for. You could include their:

Job title
Qualifications and accreditations
Experience.

You could include a professional and friendly-looking photo of each team member. This will allow buyers to put a face to a name and is a nice touch. CVs should be focused, as relevant and concise as possible while still being thorough.

Need assistance writing your next civil engineering tenders?

You may not always have the time or resources to write winning civil engineering tenders. If that’s the case, outsourcing it to bid writing specialists can help you secure your next bid.

Our sister company Hudson Succeed, are bid writing experts. They have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate.

They offer four bid writing support services that can help you win your next civil engineering tenders. Whether you’re completely new to tendering or need your bid response proofread before you submit – they can help.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect civil engineering tender for your business, why not send it over to us? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Ready

A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders
Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding professionals
An organisation-wide Bid Library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies
Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

Tender Mentor

Where can I source civil engineering tender opportunities?

Sourcing the right civil engineering tenders for your business can take hours out of your day. There are various portals and websites that require different login details and passwords. Keeping track of them all can turn into a full-time job! We have a time-saving tool that can optimise your tendering efforts allowing you time to focus on your business.

Below are previous civil engineering tenders sourced on our portal:

Civil Engineering Enabling Works at Holborn, South Shields – to Include Extensive Maritime and Geotechnical Elements

South Tyneside Council- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

Civil Engineering Works Associated with Water Supply to Group Water Schemes Including Minor Environmental Works in County Donegal

Donegal County Council- Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

HCD0118 SC Engineering Services – HCD 0118 Provision of Structural & Civil Engineering Services

Donegal County Council- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Highways & Civil Engineering Materials

Newcastle City Council- North East- budget: Undisclosed

Minor Civil Engineering work for Warwick District

Coventry Council- Solihull – Warwickshire- West Midlands- Budget: £4,000,000

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities across the Construction industry.
An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about civil engineering tenders.
A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a live demo of Construction Tenders.

We also source opportunities for services including;

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Upgrade to Discover Elite

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable civil engineering tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

All of the above.
Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Lower Thames Crossing Tender Worth a Combined £1.9 Million

Posted on 7th April 202121st March 2022 by John Hudson

Two Lower Thames Crossing Tender Opportunities

Two Lower Thames Crossing tender opportunities are being released by Highways England. The routes are worth a combined £1.9 million, building roads north and south of the Thames. It’s known as the Lower Thames Crossing project.

The project will build a total of 14.2 miles of new roads that’ll connect to the longest road tunnel in the UK. The works will improve journeys by almost doubling road capacity across the River Thames east of London.

The two roads are the final of the three main works contracts to be procured for the scheme by Highways England. The £2 billion Tunnels and Approaches contract is currently out for tender. The £162.5 million Integration Partner contract was awarded earlier in the year.

The two Lower Thames Crossing tender opportunities:

The Kent Roads contract

This will be a two-stage design and build contract worth £600 million. The works will be part of the route from the A2/M2 corridor to 1km south of the southern tunnel entrance. It will include strategic utilities and environmental interfaces within the contract. It comprises of:

6km of new road, including a multi-level junction connecting the A2 to the Lower Thames Crossing.
A road designed to minimise impact. It will need extensive landscaping with new and upgraded structures, embankments, cuttings and retaining walls.
Environmental mitigation is at the heart of the scheme. Two “Green Bridges” at Thong Lane and Brewers Road. They will combine green spaces with cycling, walking and vehicle access. Brewers Road will cater for horse riders.
Ecological works for species protection and habitat enhancement along the route.
The diversion of utilities including strategic gas mains, electricity cables. Water and telecoms.

The Roads North of the Thames contract

This is also a two-stage design and build contract worth £1.3 billion. It will deliver the route from 1km north of the northern tunnel entrance to Junction 29 of the M25. New link roads are required to connect to the route with the M25, A13 and A1089. It will involve:

16km of new road with over 30 proposed new or upgraded structures, cuttings, embankments, retaining walls and under bridges. These will take the route through the A13 to join the M25 at Junction 29.
Environmental mitigation with the roads screened with 5 “Green Bridges”.
Two viaducts at Tilbury over Tilbury Loop Railway and across Orsett Fenn over the Mardyke flood plain. Both should be designed to enhance connectivity under the crossing supporting local community access.
Diversion of utilities including gas mains, electric cables and towers.
Ecological works along the route for species protection and habitat enhancement.

Matt Palmer, Lower Thames Crossing Executive Director, said:

Our roads connect us – we rely on them, and they are a critical part of our economic recovery and low-carbon future. The Lower Thames Crossing is the most ambitious road project this country has seen since the M25 was completed 35 years ago. These contracts show our commitment to this project, which will support 22,000 jobs during its construction and provide a huge economic boost to the UK economy when it opens for traffic.

“Our challenge is to build the new crossing in a way that not only supports the next generation of low carbon vehicles, but minimises our footprint, and allows us to enhance the natural environment and leave a positive legacy for our neighbours and users.”

Need help writing your next construction tender?

If tis construction contract in the UK sounds like something you want to get involved in, we can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offer four bid writing support packages. They have an 87% success rate and have 60 years of collective bid writing experience.

A Tender Ready programme
Tender Writing services
The Tender Improvement package
Tender Mentor support

Looking for more tender opportunities like this?

Here at Construction Tenders, you’ll never miss out on a construction tendering opportunity again. Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload construction leads and tender opportunities from thousands of websites daily. You’re able to filter and search for construction tenders by keyword, budget, location and more. Gone are the days of relying on inaccurate CPV codes. This allows you to find the perfect tendering opportunity for your business.

We also source opportunities for services including;

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, optimising your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your bidding success rate and competitor awareness. Each package can help save you even more time when searching for construction tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

All of the above.
Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

What do you need to know about building work tenders?

How do you win building work tenders for your business?

Include case studies in your tender response

Be the MEAT

Provide qualifications

Prepare your social value responses

Study the buyer’s specifications

Where can you find building work tenders?

Here are just a few examples of past building work tenders on our Construction Tenders portal:

Book a Demo with Construction Tenders

Need assistance when looking to tender for building work?

Upgrade to Discover Elite

How to win new construction tenders

What type of construction tenders are there?

The process of bidding for new construction tenders

PAS-91

Invitation to tender

Submit your tender response

Win a new construction tender with these helpful tips:

Your company should be the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)

Carefully read the buyer’s specifications

Give yourself enough time

Proofread your response

Ask for feedback

Where can you find new construction tenders?

Want to save even more time? Upgrade to Discover Elite

How to tender for construction projects step by step guide

Documents required for tenders for construction projects

Types of tenders for construction projects

Open tendering

Selective tendering

Negotiated tendering

Serial tendering

Framework tendering

Single-stage and two-stage tendering

Public sector tendering

Strong examples can help you win your bid

What to do if you’re unsuccessful with your bid?

Need help to tender for construction projects?

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

Opportunities for construction tenders online

What is the process of winning a construction tender?

PAS91 or PQQ

Invitation to tender

Clarification

Submission

What to expect when bidding for construction contracts in the UK?

What to look for in construction bid sites

The portal doesn’t rely on CPV codes

The portal manually tracks construction contracts

The system focuses on your industry

Allows for remote working in teams

You’re supported by an account manager

You have access to virtual learning

You can outsource bid writing if needed

Need help with construction tenders online?

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

Procurement and tendering in construction: a guide to success

The process of procurement and tendering in construction

What’s included in the bid response?

Tips for success in procurement and tendering in construction

Be the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)

Meet the specifications

Allow yourself plenty of time

Get feedback

Proofread

Need help with procurement and tendering in construction?

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

Government construction tender news

Building Safety Bill

Environment Bill

Planning Bill

Procurement Bill

Need assistance when writing your next government construction tenders?

Tender Ready

Tender Improvement

Tender Writing

Tender Mentor

Where can I find government construction tenders?

Below are previous government construction tenders sourced on our portal: