A guide to property maintenance contract tenders

Could your business benefit from winning property maintenance contract tenders? If you’re new to the tendering process, you may have some questions. We’d be more surprised if you didn’t, as the procurement world can be rather puzzling. This blog aims to answer some of your FAQs.

Who commissions property maintenance contract tenders?

Property maintenance contract tenders are offered in both the private and public sector. However, they are often more abundant in the public sector, specifically with Local Councils.

What’s the typical format of property maintenance contract tenders?

The typical format of property maintenance contract tenders is that initially, you will need to answer a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ). Selection questionnaires (SQs) are also used and are basically the same as a PQQ. They’re both initial stages and questionnaires used by buyers to establish if a potential supplier meets the minimum eligibility criteria.

They are both essentially box-ticking exercises that usually require you to include company information. You’ll also need to disclose any grounds for mandatory exclusion, company equality and diversity policies and financial thresholds. Once a business has passed this stage, they will then be given an invitation to tender (ITT). Successful suppliers will then go on to win the contract and perform the work.

What are property maintenance contract tender framework agreements?

Framework agreements are multi-supplier agreements that are often used within the public sector. The length of framework agreements can range from months to multiple years, with a possibility of extension.

Property maintenance contracts for tender will often have multiple services required for the job. Framework agreements split up specific goods, works or locations into Lots. This allows a potential supplier to still be involved in the contract, even if they can only supply one aspect of it. They do not need to be able to fulfil all areas of the contract. In some cases, suppliers can apply for multiple Lots, with the maximum often being capped at three. If this is an option, a buyer will expect proof that you have the resources to deliver all Lots.

How is a contract awarded?

A property maintenance contract tender is often awarded to the most economically advantageous tender, known as the MEAT. The MEAT is used in the public sector. It’s worth noting that the MEAT does not mean that the cheapest bid wins. Buyers are looking for the tender that presents the most value for money.

Often a buyer will look at a combination of factors both individually and as a whole. These can include, but aren’t limited to the following:

• Innovation
• Sustainability
• Technical Ability
• Accessibility
• Environmental benefits
• Quality
• Social Characteristics.

How do I know if a property maintenance contract is right for my business?

You should read the tender documents and specification carefully – in full. Even if there are 70+ pages. You must fully digest them in order to make a logical decision on whether to bid or not to bid. Once you have done this, you should ask yourself:

• Do I have the resources to carry out this contract?

• Does my business meet the minimum eligibility and financial thresholds?

• Do I have the required experience?
• Do I have enough time to write a high-quality, winning response?

If the answer to any of the above is no, then it probably isn’t a good idea to take it any further. Asking yourself these questions before you jump in with writing your response can save you time and resources.

Does the quality of my written response to property maintenance tenders matter?

In short, yes. No matter the split on weightings for price and quality, the quality of your written response always matters. Buyers want to be confident that they are choosing the right business for the job at hand. Your tender response must persuade them that you are the best business and be convincing. You should use substantial evidence to back up any claims you are making.

Your written response for a property maintenance contract tender should be clear, concise and persuasive. Successful responses will pay attention to the word and page counts, getting their response as close as possible to them. If a buyer thinks a question should have a 700-word response, simply writing two sentences won’t suffice.

Where can I get support with my property maintenance contracts tenders?

It’s understandable that you may need a little extra help when it comes to writing your property maintenance contract tenders. Not every business has the time or resources in-house to write a winning response. Outsourcing is a great option that can help you win a pipeline of work for your business.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, has over 60 years of collective bid writing experience, boasting an 87% success rate. They can help you stand out from your competitors by writing a winning, quality response. There are four bid writing support packages that can help you win your next property maintenance contract tenders.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready 4-week programme is perfect for businesses that have never tendered before. Our Bid Writers will work with you to make sure you have everything in place to tender successfully. Tender Ready offers your business:

• A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders.
• Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding Professionals.
• An Organisation-wide Bid library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies.
• Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing the result you want our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect property maintenance contract tender for your business – send it our way. Our Bid Writers will take care of it all for you, letting you know what they need from you. They’ll provide you with a full Tender Writing breakdown, and even submit the bid on your behalf.

Tender Mentor

If your property maintenance contract tender response needs proofreading before submission – send it over. Our Tender Mentor service can make sure your response is free of grammar and spelling mistakes before you submit. Our Bid Writers will proof it, checking it’s in line with the specification.

Where can I find property maintenance contract tenders?

Finding the right property maintenance contract tenders can take hours out of your day. Hours that you could otherwise be spending on running your business.

Enter…Facilities Tenders!

Facilities Tenders is a portal that hosts all the live tendering opportunities within the facilities management industry. Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload facility tender opportunities from thousands of sources across the UK.

By manually uploading each tender opportunity, you’ll never miss a tender again due to unreliable CPV codes. You’re able to filter and search the results by keyword, location, budget and more. This can be a great time-saving tool, allowing you to find the perfect property maintenance contract tenders for your business.

Below are previous property maintenance contract tenders sourced on our portal:

BOCSI-MNT2-CL – Property Maintenance Services for BOCSI Clare Region – Framework Agreement v2

BCM Business Cost Management Limited- International- Budget: Undisclosed

GB-Boston: Property Maintenance

Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk- Eastern- Budget: £500,000

I-Flair Property Maintenance Framework Agreement 2020-2024

Ferguslie Park Housing Association Ltd- Scotland- Budget: £68,383,879

LAB1 – Provide a Comprehensive Range of Property Maintenance Services and General Building Assistance

Legal Aid Board- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Property Maintenance – Locksmiths

East Dunbartonshire Council- Scotland- Budget: £150,000

We also track opportunities for the following sub-sectors:

• Property Maintenance Contracts
• Solar Energy Contracts
• Electrical Testing Contracts
• Cemetery Contracts
• Grounds Maintenance Contracts
• Cleaning Contracts
• Facilities Management Tenders
• Window Cleaning Contracts
• Manned Security Tenders
• Landscape Design Tenders
• Grass Cutting Contracts.

Book a free live demo today to learn how we can grow your business!

What’s included in a subscription to Facilities Tenders? 

A subscription to our Facilities Tenders portal offers your business:

• Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities across the Facilities Industry.
• An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about finding property maintenance contract tenders.
• A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new facilities tenders are uploaded that day.
• Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
• 20-minutes of free consultancy with one of our Bid Consultants.

Want to save even more time?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each can help save you even more time when searching for property maintenance contract tenders for your business.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers your business:

• A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
• An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Facilities and Logistics, for example.
• Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
• Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid
• Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable facilities tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package also includes:

• All of the above.
• Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
• A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.