Hard FM - Reactive and Planned Maintenance Services for Dorset Council

This Preliminary Market Engagement Notice is not a call for competition. It is being published to give notice to the market of an upcoming procurement.

Dorset Council is undertaking early market engagement, with the aim of providing information to and requesting feedback from the market, about aspects of the Council's procurement strategy for reactive and planned Repairs and Maintenance for building fabric, M&E and associated works and services and to help inform the decision-making process on the procurement of these works and services.

Any procurement will be carried out in accordance with relevant Procurement Regulations.

Dorset Council may commence one or more procurements in respect of this notice subject to final scope and structure, but also reserves the right not to commence any procurement in respect of this notice.

Dorset Council shall not be liable for any losses incurred by any party as a result of reliance on the information contained/linked herein.

Dorset Council are intending to procure repairs and maintenance services and shall appoint contractors for each Lot to deliver reactive and planned maintenance for M&E, Lifts, Asbestos, Mechanical Barriers, Voids, Fire (active & passive) and Building Fabric and associated services within the Dorset Council Region. All Lots will have one supplier per Lot save for M&E and Building Fabric who have two suppliers each, one supplier for West and one supplier for East This work will cover the following Dorset Council property portfolio types:

• Housing, including a mix of self-contained units and hostels, mostly used for temporary accommodation.

• Council Operational/Commercial Assets including operational buildings from which the council delivers a service (for example, libraries, family hubs, depots, residential children's and adults homes, day centres, offices etc) and commercial / community buildings which the council leases out and has some repairing obligations (for example farms, hotels and guesthouses, industrial units, community buildings etc).

It is the Council’s intention to structure the Lots in the following manner

Lot 1 is M&E

Lot 2 is Lifts

Lot 3 is Fire Protection, Management & Maintenance

Lot 4 is Asbestos Works & Services

Lot 5 is Mechanical Barriers

Lot 6 is Fabric Maintenance

Lot 7 is Housing Voids

Dorset Council are also considering appointing a number of contractors to deliver capital works and associated services within the Dorset Council Region.

Examples of the type of works are:

- Repairs and Maintenance of the capital assets

- Mechanical and Electrical

- Building Fabric Maintenance

- Specialist works (e.g. Fire Alarms)

- Refurbishment works

- New builds

- Extensions

- Demolitions

Dorset Council are looking to achieve the following key objectives:

o A repeatable and effective process

o An effective service with a timely emergency response.

o Value for money and appropriate costs.

o Appropriate coverage across the council areas

o Coverage over all asset types

o Improved performance and quality management through KPIs

o A Life Cycle approach

The contractors will be procured and subsequently able to appoint sub-contractors. Dorset Council would like to see direct investment into the local supply chain but are also open to looking elsewhere for appropriate contractors. The main focus is that the works are completed by a contractor who is best suited and meets the key objectives.

The proposed go live date (contract commencement) is planned for 11th January, 2027; and will last for a proposed initial period of 4 years.

We envisage that the market engagement will feed into the requirements and as such, we reserve the right to alter the above information for the benefit of both Dorset Council and the market.

The information contained in this Preliminary Market Engagement Notice is preliminary in nature and may be subject to further amendment and revision. Accordingly, no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, will be made and no liability is, or will be, accepted by the Council as to the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of this document. Any liability however arising is expressly disclaimed.

No expense in responding to this market engagement will be reimbursed by the Council.

The expected total value of the contract for the initial 4 year term is £24,000,000. There are two further options for a further 1 year extension.

In order to ensure a good level of competition for this procurement, Dorset Council will be holding two market engagement days (both covering the same information) which will be held on 31st March 2026 and a further date to be held on the 14th April, 2026.

The engagement event for this tender opportunity will take place online on Teams on (a) 31st March 2026 between 14:00 and 15:00 and (b) 14th April 2026 11:00 to 12:00. If you would like further information please contact Place Procurement at placeprocurement@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.

Prior to attendance at the engagement event, registration should be made via email to Place Procurement at placeprocurement@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk. Please provide details of all attendees including email addresses and job titles. Each person will receive a personal Eventbrite invite and will be required to register separately in order that Dorset Council are able to keep a register of all attendees.

Following the Engagement event session, there will be an opportunity for suppliers to inform us if they intend to participate in the tender process.

There will also be an opportunity for Dorset Council to respond to any further questions regarding the planned tender these must be submitted via email to Place Procurement at placeprocurement@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk by

(1) 15:00 hours on 14th April 2026 in relation to the first market engagement; or
(2) 15:00 hours on 28 April 2026 in relation to the second market engagement.

Please note that any questions sent to Dorset Council other than via the email address above will not be responded to.

Please note that any information shared in these individual sessions will be shared with all other bidders, to ensure all information is equally available for all participants in any procurement process that may follow. Additionally, the council will only sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) using its standard terms and conditions if subsequently requested.