161_27 Artist Grounds’, Brushes, Art Pads and Painting Tools

What the buyer is asking for

ESPO is a trading department of Leicestershire County Council. It is a non-profit making body owned and operated jointly by six local authorities. We provide a catalogue range, providing our customers with access to over 28,000 products that cover all key areas of education and wider public sector requirements. We are establishing a catalogue framework for the supply of Artist brushes, Artist grounds, portfolios, easels and mats for delivery to ESPO’s distribution centre and to individual customers. The Framework is divided into 6 lots. Please refer to the tender documents for any further details (including further details on each of the lots) - the closing date for submission of Tenders is 12:00 (12 noon / 12pm) on 02 October 2026. To tender (please proceed to step (e) if an expression of interest has already been completed): (a) Go to https://www.eastmidstenders.org/ (b) Register (if not already registered on ProContract e.g., via https://procontract.due-north.com/Register); (c) Search for tender opportunity 161_27 (via "View Opportunities" from the EastMidsTenders Portal, or alternatively via searching on https://procontract.due-north.com/Opportunities/Index); (d) Express an interest; (e) Download the tender documents (from the ProContract Activity summary screen). Any questions or clarifications relating to this tender opportunity should be submitted to ESPO as a message on the eProcurement Portal, once an Expression of interest has been completed.

How this is scored

Published by the buyer. A winning response is written to these weightings, not to the question.

• 80%pricePrice
• 20%qualityNon-Price

What you must already have

Conditions of participation. These are pass or fail, so check them before writing anything.

• economic

  Refer to the tender documents for conditions of participation.

• technical

  Refer to the tender documents for conditions of participation.

6 lots

You can usually bid for one lot without bidding for all of them.

• Artist Brushes£603k

  The purpose of this Lot is to offer ESPO customers high quality and competitively priced artist brushes made of various materials such as hog hair brushes, synthetic brushes, round and flat brushes. These products are intended for use primarily within educational sector, with delivery to ESPO’s distribution centre (Supply Method A).

• Painting Tools and Equipment£103k

  The purpose of this Lot is to offer ESPO customers high quality and competitively priced painting tools and equipment, including rollers, painting knives, sponges, mixing tools and other accessories. These products are intended for use primarily within the education sector, with delivery to ESPO's distribution centre (Supply Method A).

• Artists Books, Pads and Papers£4.8m

  The purpose of this Lot is to offer ESPO customers high quality and competitively priced artists' books, pads and papers, including sketchbooks, cartridge paper, watercolour paper and specialist art papers. These products are intended for use primarily within the education sector, with delivery to ESPO's distribution centre (Supply Method A).

• Drying Racks and Easels£533k

  The purpose of this Lot is to offer ESPO customers high quality and competitively priced drying racks and easels suitable for use in educational art environments. Products include tabletop and floor-standing easels, drying racks and associated accessories, with delivery to ESPO's distribution centre or direct delivery to individual customer establishments (Supply Method A and B).

• Portfolios and Canvasses£413k

  The purpose of this Lot is to offer ESPO customers high quality and competitively priced portfolios and canvases, including canvas boards, stretched canvases, canvas rolls and art storage portfolios. These products are intended for use primarily within the education sector, with delivery to ESPO's distribution centre (Supply Method A).

• Pots, Palettes and Jars£220k

  The purpose of this Lot is to offer ESPO customers high quality and competitively priced products for use with paints and other art materials. Products include paint pots, mixing palettes, water pots, storage jars and related accessories. These products are intended for use primarily within the education sector, with delivery to ESPO's distribution centre (Supply Method A).

How contested is this?

Buyers publish how many bids they received. Across 33 comparable procurements we can tell you the typical field size, how often one of these goes uncontested, and whether the buyer awards on price or on quality.

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London

1. Tender notice published18 days ago

   3 Sept 2026, 14:03 BST
2. Clarification questions byin 4 days

   25 Sept 2026, 17:00 BST
3. Submission deadlinein 10 days

   2 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
4. Award decision expected byin 108 days

   7 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT

Commercial outcome and contract awards

Nothing awarded yet

Notice history

3 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender

1. Pipeline or early engagement notice7 May 2026, 14:12 BST041966-2026
2. Pipeline or early engagement notice28 May 2026, 10:51 BST050151-2026
3. Tender notice3 Sept 2026, 14:03 BST083497-2026

Documents

• To tender (please proceed to step (e) if an expression of interest has already been completed): (a) Go to https://www.eastmidstenders.org/ (b) Register (if not already registered on ProContract e.g., via https://procontract.due-north.com/Register); (c) Search for tender opportunity 161_27 (via "View Opportunities" from the EastMidsTenders Portal, or alternatively via searching on https://procontract.due-north.com/Opportunities/Index); (d) Express an interest; (e) Download the tender documents (from the ProContract Activity summary screen).
• Please refer to the tender documents (see above for further details including summary instructions on how to access these).
• Tender notice on Find a Tender