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Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Contract Leads

Scope

Reference

PRO005080

Description

United Utilities Water Limited is launching a competitive flexible procurement process under the Procurement Act 2023 to establish a multi-supplier framework for the purchase, refurbishment, life extension, service, maintenance and repair of specialist wastewater and network vehicles. The procurement is being run as an Invitation to Negotiate rather than through a separate Conditions of Participation Questionnaire stage. Supplier suitability requirements, including financial standing, good standing, sustainability, health and safety, quality and cyber-security compliance, are incorporated within the ITN and assessed on a pass/fail basis. The framework is designed to provide United Utilities with a structured, commercially controlled route to market for operationally critical specialist vehicles used across wastewater networks, treatment works, pumping stations, depots, roadside environments and other operational locations. These vehicles support activities such as sewer cleaning, jetting, vacuum recovery, de-silting, wet-well cleaning, sludge and silt removal, emergency draw-off, industrial cleaning and reactive network support. The tender is split into two specialist vehicle lots. Lot 1 covers Combination Sewer Cleaning Units, including vacuum tanker jetters, compact jetting-vacuum units, Vactor units and high-volume jet-vac units. The initial forecast requirement for Lot 1 is 34 units, although future requirements may vary depending on operational need, asset condition, budget availability and internal approvals. Lot 2 covers High Vacuum Units, with an initial forecast requirement of 3 units. Both lots include not only new vehicle supply, but also refurbishment, life extension, service, maintenance and repair, spares, technical support, documentation, handover, training or familiarisation, and controlled hire contingency support where required. The intended commercial model is ownership-led for the core fleet.

Commercial tool

Establishes a framework

Total value (estimated)

• £30,300,000 excluding VAT
• £363,600,000 including VAT

Above the relevant threshold

Contract dates (estimated)

• 21 August 2026 to 21 August 2030
• Possible extension to 21 August 2034
• 8 years, 1 day

Description of possible extension:

The initial contract term will be 4 years, with the option to extend for up to two further periods of 2 years each. Any extension will be at United Utilities’ sole discretion and will be subject to ongoing business need, supplier performance, value for money, operational requirements, and continued budget approval. The maximum potential contract duration, including all extension options, is therefore 8 years.

Main procurement category

Goods

Additional procurement category

Services

CPV classifications

• 34114000 - Specialist vehicles
• 34144000 - Special-purpose motor vehicles
• 34144500 - Vehicles for refuse and sewage
• 34144520 - Sewage tankers

Contract locations

• UKD - North West (England)

Lot LOT-0001. PRO005080- Lot 1 - Combination Sewer Cleaning Units

Description

Lot 1 covers the supply and lifecycle support of Vacuum Tanker Jetters and Vactor Units / High Volume Jet-Vac Tankers for United Utilities’ wastewater operations. The scope includes new supply, refurbishment, life extension, SMR, spares, diagnostics, technical support and controlled hire contingency.

Lot value (estimated)

• £26,800,000 excluding VAT
• £32,160,000 including VAT

Framework lot values may be shared with other lots

Same for all lots

CPV classifications, contract locations and contract dates are shown in the Scope section, because they are the same for all lots.

Lot LOT-0002. PRO005080- Lot 2 - High Vacuum Units

Description

Lot 2 covers the supply and lifecycle support of High Vacuum Units for United Utilities’ wastewater and network operations. The scope includes new supply, refurbishment, life extension, SMR, spares, diagnostics, technical support, training, documentation and controlled hire contingency where required.

Lot value (estimated)

• £3,500,000 excluding VAT
• £4,200,000 including VAT

Framework lot values may be shared with other lots

Same for all lots

CPV classifications, contract locations and contract dates are shown in the Scope section, because they are the same for all lots.

Framework

Maximum number of suppliers

4

Maximum percentage fee charged to suppliers

0%

Framework operation description

The framework will operate across two lots: Lot 1 – Combination Sewer Cleaning Units, covering Vacuum Tanker Jetters and Vactor Units. Lot 2 – High Vacuum Units, covering Vacuum Trucks. United Utilities intends to appoint up to two suppliers per lot, subject to bidders meeting the required technical, commercial, maintenance, financial and contractual requirements. Where only one supplier meets the required standard for a lot, United Utilities may appoint a single supplier for that lot. The framework will support the purchase of new specialist vehicles, refurbishment and life extension, service, maintenance and repair, spares, technical support, and hire / lease contingency support where required. The initial Year 1 requirement may be awarded to the highest-ranked supplier in each lot, subject to confirmation of capacity, capability and delivery lead times. Where the highest-ranked supplier cannot meet the full requirement, United Utilities may allocate part or all of the requirement to the next highest-ranked appointed supplier in that lot, in accordance with the procurement documents. Future requirements may be awarded through mini-competition between appointed suppliers in the relevant lot. Mini-competitions may consider price, whole-life cost, technical fit, delivery timescales, refurbishment viability, maintenance support, supplier capacity and previous framework performance. Where only one supplier is appointed to a lot, United Utilities may award relevant call-offs directly to that supplier, subject to confirmation of capacity, value for money, technical compliance and ongoing performance. The framework will be managed through structured contract management, including performance monitoring, delivery reviews, maintenance support oversight, escalation routes and governance controls to ensure operational continuity, value for money and supplier performance throughout the framework term.

Award method when using the framework

With competition

Contracting authorities that may use the framework

Establishing party only

Participation

Particular suitability

Lot LOT-0001. PRO005080- Lot 1 - Combination Sewer Cleaning Units

Lot LOT-0002. PRO005080- Lot 2 - High Vacuum Units

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)

Submission

Enquiry deadline

26 June 2026, 6:00pm

Submission type

Tenders

Tender submission deadline

3 July 2026, 6:00pm

Submission address and any special instructions

Tenders may be submitted electronically

Yes

Languages that may be used for submission

English

Award decision date (estimated)

18 August 2026

Award criteria

Other information

Conflicts assessment prepared/revised

Yes

Procedure

Procedure type

Competitive flexible procedure

Special regime

Utilities

Competitive flexible procedure description

United Utilities is undertaking a Competitive Flexible Procedure under the Procurement Act 2023 to establish a multi-supplier framework for Specialist Vehicles. The framework is intended to support United Utilities’ operational fleet requirements through a structured route to market for the purchase, refurbishment, life extension, service, maintenance and repair of specialist vehicles, together with spares and hire / lease contingency support where required. The framework will be structured across two lots: Lot 1 – Combination Sewer Cleaning Units This lot covers Vacuum Tanker Jetters and Vactor Units. The scope includes new vehicle supply, refurbishment, life extension, maintenance of the current asset base, spares, technical support, and hire / lease contingency support where required. Lot 2 – High Vacuum Units This lot covers Vacuum Trucks. The scope includes new vehicle supply, refurbishment, life extension, maintenance of the current asset base, spares, technical support, and hire / lease contingency support where required. The procurement will be run as a Competitive Flexible Procedure. United Utilities does not intend to run a separate pre-qualification stage. Supplier suitability requirements, including financial standing, good standing, sustainability commitments, health and safety compliance, and other relevant pass / fail requirements, will be assessed as part of the Invitation to Negotiate. Following publication of the tender opportunity, suppliers will be invited to submit responses against the relevant lot or lots. Responses will be assessed against the published pass / fail requirements, technical evaluation criteria and commercial evaluation criteria. The technical evaluation will assess bidders’ ability to meet the required specialist vehicle specifications and support requirements, including delivery capability, mobilisation approach, refurbishment and life extension capability, maintenance arrangements, aftersales support, geographic coverage, operational resilience and ability to support lifecycle performance. The commercial evaluation will assess value for money on a whole-life cost basis. This may include vehicle pricing, refurbishment pricing, maintenance pricing for current and future vehicles, spares pricing, hire / lease contingency support rates, and other relevant cost elements set out in the procurement documents. United Utilities may use the flexibility available under the Competitive Flexible Procedure to clarify, refine, discuss or negotiate aspects of the tenders where this is considered appropriate. Any such engagement will be conducted in accordance with the procurement documents and in a manner that ensures transparency and equal treatment of suppliers. United Utilities reserves the right to proceed to award without negotiation or further dialogue where it determines that sufficient clarity and value has been achieved from the initial tenders. The framework is intended to appoint up to two suppliers per lot, subject to bidders meeting the required technical, commercial and maintenance requirements. Where only one supplier meets the required standard for a lot, United Utilities may appoint a single supplier for that lot. The initial Year 1 requirement may be awarded to the highest-ranked supplier in each lot, subject to confirmation of capacity, capability and delivery lead times. Where the highest-ranked supplier cannot meet the full requirement, United Utilities may allocate part or all of the requirement to the next highest-ranked appointed supplier in that lot, in accordance with the procurement documents. Future call-offs may be awarded through mini-competition between appointed suppliers in the relevant lot, based on the specific requirement at the point of call-off. Relevant call-off considerations may include price, whole-life cost, technical fit, delivery timescales, refurbishment viability, maintenance support, supplier capacity and previous framework performance. The objective of the procedure is to appoint supplier(s) capable of delivering reliable, compliant and cost-effective specialist vehicle solutions that support operational continuity, lifecycle optimisation, value for money and long-term fleet resilience.

Contracting authority

United Utilities Water Limited

• Public Procurement Organisation Number: PVVB-5589-BWHX

Lingley Mere Business Park

Warrington

WA5 3LP

United Kingdom

Contact name: Sofia Gomes

Telephone: +44 293420000

Email: Sofia.Gomes [at] uuplc.co.uk

Website:

Region: UKD61 - Warrington

Organisation type: Private utility