The Core Refurbishment

What the buyer is asking for

Newcastle City Council is seeking to appoint a contractor to deliver the comprehensive CAT A refurbishment of The Core at Newcastle Helix. The project includes mechanical and electrical upgrades, reconfigured floorplates, improved communal facilities, a new entrance lobby and sustainability improvements. The procurement will follow a two-stage design-and-build approach, including a pre-construction phase, with the main works delivered under an amended JCT Design and Build Contract 2024

How this is scored

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

• 15%qualityTeam, Experience and ResourcesAssessment of the proposed project team, team CVs, relevant Category A refurbishment experience, and BREEAM and Fitwel experience.
• 20%qualityProgramme and MethodologyAssessment of the pre-construction and construction programme, site logistics and management methodology, and soft landings and aftercare arrangements.
• 15%qualityApproach to Second StageAssessment of the proposed procurement and design management approach and subcontractor long list.
• 10%qualitySocial ValueAssessment of the proposed social value commitments. Mandatory social value requirements will be assessed separately on a pass/fail basis.
• 40%pricePriceAssessment using a £6,000,000 notional net construction value, tendered preliminaries, design fees, PCSA fee and overheads and profit. The offered SIP discount applicable to Day 10 payment will be applied to calculate the Evaluated Tender Sum. The lowest Evaluated Tender Sum receives 40 marks; other scores are calculated as: lowest Evaluated Tender Sum divided by the supplier's Evaluated Tender Sum, multiplied by 40.

How contested is this?

Buyers publish how many bids they received. Across 142 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 publishedyesterday

   7 Oct 2026, 12:22 BST
2. Clarification questions byin 25 days

   2 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
3. Submission deadlinein 29 days

   6 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
4. Award decision expected byin 44 days

   20 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT

Commercial outcome and contract awards

Nothing awarded yet

Notice history

2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender

1. Pipeline or early engagement notice5 May 2026, 08:48 BST040791-2026
2. Tender notice7 Oct 2026, 12:22 BST094689-2026

Documents

• Procurement documentation is available through the OPEN portal at the above link.
• Tender notice on Find a Tender