UK Security Tenders: Selected Guarding Opportunities

UK security tenders include daily guarding, reception and concierge cover, and additional event security. The three selected competitions below have different staffing and company requirements: Welsh-speaking personnel at Bangor, a three-guard service at Hinckley, and company-level SIA Approved Contractor Scheme approval at NETPark.

Checked on 5 October 2026. This selection covers physical guarding services, with direct links to the official notices and submission routes. Read the current buyer documents before committing to a bid: the public notices summarised here do not contain every contract term or pricing instruction.

Selected UK guarding tenders

The dates fall either side of the October UK clock change. Keep the stated BST or GMT alongside the calendar date when scheduling submission.

Hinckley and Bosworth: guarding with a customer-service role

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council is buying manned guarding at the Hinckley Hub and additional services elsewhere in the borough. The role includes maintaining security, welcoming and directing visitors, concierge duties, and extra cover for evening meetings and events.

The core requirement is three guards, Monday to Thursday from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. One guard is currently trialling an 8 a.m. start to cover reception for NHS patients. The notice says this could become permanent or extend that position’s hours by 30 minutes. Allow for the specified staffing pattern when assessing your available team and price.

The updated notice gives a £650,000 total estimated value including VAT. Its 7 September amendment explicitly corrects the original £130,000 figure, which was annual. The initial term is 1 December 2026 to 30 November 2029, with two possible 12-month extensions subject to Council approval. The total estimate is not a guaranteed annual payment.

Participation is reserved to UK suppliers. The notice flags SME suitability, but that does not replace the tender’s qualification checks. Evaluation is 60% quality and 40% price: explain how your staff combine security with professional visitor care, rather than treating this purely as a guard-hours quotation.

Next step: use the updated Hinckley security-services notice and follow its Welland Procurement opportunity route. The named submission site is East Midlands Tenders. Search for HBBC-1659 and check the current pack and portal messages. The published enquiry deadline was 28 September, so it has already passed; the response deadline is 7 October, noon BST.

NETPark: check the bidding company’s ACS approval first

Durham County Council requires manned guarding across eight main buildings at NETPark. The estimated contract value is £395,000 excluding VAT, or £474,000 including VAT. The initial term runs from 1 February 2027 to 31 January 2029, with a possible further 24 months subject to performance and requirements review.

The 29 September update changes the accreditation requirement. The bidding organisation must itself be part of the SIA Approved Contractor Scheme for Security Guard activity, be findable on the approved contractors list, and cannot use subcontracting to satisfy this condition. The updated requirement lists Security Guard activity; the previous CCTV condition is no longer included. Check this amendment before relying on an earlier downloaded notice.

The buyer may increase or reduce standard service requirements, including hours, staffing and locations. Its published terms provide at least 14 calendar days’ notice for an increase and 30 days for a reduction. They exclude extra compensation arising solely from reduced services and provide payment for services actually delivered. This makes flexible staffing and the effect of reduced hours practical pricing questions; the estimated value should not be treated as fixed revenue.

The evaluation weights are 40% price, 25% mobilisation, 25% contract management and 10% social value. A useful response therefore needs a credible mobilisation plan and management arrangements alongside its rates.

Next step: read the updated NETPark guarding notice, then obtain the specification, including Document 3a, through the Open supplier portal. The notice says the documents are available free after supplier registration and submissions must use that portal. Search for OPEN20261949 or 003708. Questions are due 23 October, noon BST; tenders are due 28 October, 10 a.m. GMT. The detailed specification and full pricing pack are additional reading before a final bid decision.

Bangor University: bilingual Pontio staff and variable event cover

Bangor University is seeking a contractor to supplement its internal team. The requirement has two parts: a daily SIA-licensed security presence at the Pontio arts centre and additional event staff. Event duties can include traffic management, static guarding, stewarding and door-supervisor roles. The university expressly says the volume of additional work cannot be guaranteed.

The estimated value is £325,000 excluding VAT. The initial three-year term is 4 January 2027 to 3 January 2030, with two possible 12-month extensions. Assess the regular Pontio requirement separately from potential event income when planning capacity.

The notice states approximate annual turnover of £100,000, an acid-test ratio of at least 1:1, and £5 million each of employer’s and public liability insurance, for each claim rather than in aggregate. It also requires SIA evidence and staff who can converse fluently in both Welsh and English. The language requirement is a substantive staffing check, even where the notice identifies the contract as suitable for SMEs.

Evaluation is 60% technical and 40% commercial. The commercial pricing spreadsheet must be downloaded, completed in full and uploaded for the bid to be considered. References will be requested from the winning bidder, alongside SIA certification.

Next step: read Bangor University’s security-services notice and use eTenderWales, ITT reference 120886, for the complete technical and commercial envelopes. Questions are due 23 October, noon BST; tenders are due 30 October, noon GMT. Check the current portal documents for the full duties, schedules and contract conditions.

Decide which guarding work your firm can deliver

Before allocating proposal time, compare the requirements with the team and company evidence you can actually supply:

• Company qualifications: NETPark’s ACS condition applies to the bidding organisation. Check your company’s approved activities before preparing the rest of that bid.
• Staffing: Bangor’s bilingual requirement and Hinckley’s core three-guard rota require more than general availability. Identify how you would cover absence, additional hours and mobilisation.
• Commercial exposure: distinguish inclusive and exclusive VAT values, initial terms and optional extensions. Bangor’s additional events and NETPark’s variable service hours need their own capacity and pricing assumptions.
• Submission readiness: collect the current specification, pricing files, amendments and required evidence from the named portal. A notice summary cannot establish that the complete pack is ready to submit.

For a structured decision, use the 30-minute go/no-go framework after checking the buyer’s hard conditions.

Find further guarding opportunities through official notices

Use Find a Tender to search buyer names and terms such as manned guarding, security services and concierge security. Open the notice itself and check whether it is a live tender, a planning notice or an award. Follow its submission link: the notice service and the buyer’s tender portal perform different roles.

For these selected buyers, the working routes are East Midlands Tenders, Open and eTenderWales. Search by the references above to avoid confusing a current competition with an older contract of the same name. Check for updates both when downloading the pack and before submission.

Questions about UK security tenders

Is SIA ACS approval the same as a guard’s licence?

No. The NETPark notice requires company-level ACS approval for the specified activity. Bangor refers to SIA-licensed security personnel and other SIA evidence. Read the particular tender’s requirements for both the organisation and its staff; one requirement does not automatically satisfy the other.

Can a subcontractor supply NETPark’s required ACS approval?

The updated notice says the bidding organisation must be on the ACS approved list and will not permit subcontracting for that purpose. It does not establish a blanket ban on every possible subcontracted role. Check the complete pack for other subcontracting terms.

Are the published values annual budgets or guaranteed income?

Hinckley’s amendment identifies £650,000 as the total estimate including VAT and £130,000 as the earlier annual figure. Bangor and NETPark publish contract estimates excluding VAT. Optional extensions and variable service volumes need separate consideration; an estimated contract value does not guarantee the same payment each year.

Prepare the response from the current buyer documents

Once the opportunity fits your company and delivery capacity, work from the current specification, pricing schedules and amendments. Use DeepRFP to organise the documents and prepare your response.