Edinburgh Royal Observatory
UK Research and Innovation has launched a procurement process to appoint a long-term construction partner for an £800m estates programme across its national science and technology research sites.
The client, UKRI’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), published the tender notice on 10 October.
It is seeking a construction firm to deliver capital works under an eight-year partnership agreement running from July 2026 to July 2034.
The successful bidder will work alongside a separately procured programme partner to deliver STFC’s national estate transformation and decarbonisation programme.
The scheme includes backlog maintenance, asset replacement and the construction of new infrastructure.
The notice states the maximum spend under the contract is £800m excluding VAT, or £960m including VAT. UKRI has flagged that this is the programme’s upper limit and is not fully guaranteed.
STFC’s estate includes the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and Cosener’s House in Oxfordshire, the Daresbury Laboratory in Warrington, the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, Boulby Underground Laboratory in Cleveland, and the Chilbolton Observatory in Hampshire.
Projects under the contract will range from basic shell-and-core buildings to complex scientific facilities, including infrastructure reinforcements. No architect has yet been named.
STFC also estimates backlog maintenance, future growth and decarbonisation of its buildings and infrastructure will cost £120m per year over 15 years.
The construction partner will be appointed via a competitive flexible procedure under the Procurement Act 2023.
The process includes a pre-qualification questionnaire, two dialogue stages during the tender process, and a final assessment centre for shortlisted bidders.
Interested firms have until 14 November to submit expressions of interest. The contract is expected to be awarded in December.
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Colin Marrs