CONTRACT NOTICE – NATIONAL

1 Authority Details

1.1

Authority Name and Address

1.2

Address from which documentation may be obtained

As in 1.1

1.3

Completed documents must be returned to:

As in 1.1

2 Contract Details

2.1

Title

Coleg Sir Gar, Coleg Gwent, Neath Port Talbot - Facility Management - Expression of Interest

2.2

Description of the goods or services required

WEPCO, a partnership between the Development Bank of Wales and Meridiam, is seeking an FM Service Provider to deliver the Hard FM, Lifecycle Management and interim Grounds Maintenance Services to the Coleg Sir Gar, Coleg Gwent and Neath Port Talbot Campuses.

This bundle of project is being developed under the Mutual Investment Model (MIM), with an overall pipeline of 35 new schools and colleges throughout Wales.

The Coleg Sir Gar Pibwrlwyd Campus in Carmarthenshire redevelopment will provide 14,857m2 of new education facilities which will provide accommodation for 14-19 students, Apprenticeships, Higher Education students and adult learners. It will accommodate up to 2,385 learners albeit the College operates a flexible timetable so it is not anticipated that all students will be on site at any one time.

The Pibwrlwyd Campus will provide new accommodation to support the following curriculum and extra-curricular activities: Construction skills including carpentry, brick laying, plumbing, electrical and green skills. Other vocational skills including health and beauty, hospitality, catering and Independent Learning Skills (ILS). The facilities will also include a business centre and facilities to support students and staff during the college day, and for the community outside of core teaching hours. The Creative Arts element of the facilities will specialise in the delivery of Art and Design curricula including fashion, textiles, digital arts, animation, photography, painting, installation, media, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, jewellery, games design and sculpture. Creative Arts will have a distinct identity and location within the Pibwrlwyd campus, to reflect the Higher Education purpose of the facility and distinguish it from the Further Education provision delivered by the College elsewhere on the campus. Operational Commencement is expected no later than February 2029.

The Coleg Gwent Campus will provide a new 16,000 m2 college building in the city centre of Newport on a brownfield development site with 5,700 m2 of available area at ground floor.

The Newport Knowledge Quarter Campus in Newport City Centre will provide accommodation for 14-19 students, Apprenticeships, Higher education students and adult learners. The building is expected to cater for a combined student and staff population of c.2,200, with a maximum occupation of 3,500. The new facilities will deliver a mix of curricula and will include Business, Sciences, Independent Learning Skills (ILS), Construction, Visual Arts (Painting , Drawing, Photography/Video, Ceramics, etc), Hair and Beauty, Catering and Hospitality, Engineering and Skills Development (Math/Numeracy, English and Welsh Language etc).The facilities will also include a variety of non-curricula and social spaces designed to provide support to students and staff during the college day, and potentially for some community use (i.e. training restaurant) outside of core teaching hours.

Operational Commencement is expected no later than September 2029.

The NPTC Group of Colleges will deliver a new 12,410 m² Further Education facility arranged over four floors, located on a brownfield site within the Port Talbot Harbourside development area. The new campus will replace the existing college facilities that have reached the end of their operational life and will accommodate approximately 1,400 students and 200 teaching and support staff.

The new college will support a diverse curriculum offering, including Adult & Community Learning, Hair & Beauty, Health, Social & Childcare, Building & Engineering Services, Art & Design Science, Humanities, Business, Travel & IT, a Higher Education Centre, and PGCE programmes. The facilities will be designed to support both academic and vocational pathways, with dedicated spaces for practical learning, independent study, and staff collaboration.

Operational Commencement is expected in Q1 2030.

Tender Process Overview and deadlines – The tender will be run in a 2-stage process, with the initial SQ stage shortlisting prospective bidders who will be invited to participate in the Invitation to Tender stage. The SQ is scheduled to launch on the 18th of September 2025.

The evaluation at the tender stage will be on the basis of the following criteria of the Hard Service Contract:

· The technical, managerial and other relevant experience and ability of the Bidder (taking into account any relevant customer references);

· The proposals related to Community Benefits delivery and compliance against the PA obligations; and

· The overall commercial offering including contract derogations / enhancements and pricing.

These key criteria will be assessed throughout the process, structured into the following sections:

o Part A - General Company Information and Compliance Review (initial review to confirm the tender is a compliant tender)

o Part B Technical Delivery Proposals and Community Benefits (carrying 70% of the overall weighting)

· The Commercial Evaluation (carrying 30% of the overall weighting) including price review per college campus / tender derogations (where the total score may be adjusted to take into account of any derogations included within the Tender).

with a focus on quality, deliverability and experience in delivering similar projects and the benefits of early contractor engagement.

Although WEPCo is not a contracting authority, in the interests of transparency, it will be using a tendering procedure similar to the competitive dialogue procedure under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("PCR15"). WEPCo is not however bound by PCR15 and nothing in this document or any of the tender documents is to be taken as an acceptance or a representation that WEPCo is subject to PCR15. WEPCo reserves the right to amend the tender process (including the criteria) at any stage by giving notice to the bidders. In order to access the Tender documentation and be invited to submit a response you must submit an Expression of Interest using the template provided in the "Additional Document" Section by the 17th of September 2025. A Meet the Buyer Event is scheduled to take place on the 10th of September 2025 at 10am please refer to 'additional documents' to register.

NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=154756.

The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx.

Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems.

2.3

Notice Coding and Classification

2.4

Total quantity or scope of tender

Bundling of 3 projects :

- Coleg Sir Gar (operational commencement expected in Q1 2029),

- Coleg Gwent (operational commencement expected in Q3 2029), and

- NPTC (operational commencement expected in Q1 2030)

Provision of Hard FM Services under a 25 year contract (with associated break clauses) for the 3 campuses.

3 Conditions for Participation

3.1

Minimum standards and qualification required

4 Administrative Information

4.1

Type of Procedure

Dual stage

4.2

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

N/a

4.3

Time Limits

4.5

Language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate can be drawn up

4.6

Tender Submission Postbox

5 Other Information

5.1

Additional Information

Before expressing interest, we encourage you to attend the Meet the Buyer Event which will take place on Wednesday the 10th of September from 10am.

If you want to attend please complete the following form and you will be sent an invitation via teams : https://forms.office.com/e/SFbiFfF461

Timescales:

- Meet the Buyer Event : 10/09/25

- Expression of Interest returns : 17/09/25

Following Expression of Interest:

- PQ release : 18/09/2025

- ITT release : 21/11/2025

- Preferred bidder : Early February 2026

(WA Ref:154756)

Under the terms of this contract the successful supplier(s) will be required to deliver Community Benefits in support of the authority’s economic and social objectives. Accordingly, contract performance conditions may relate in particular to social and environmental considerations. The Community Benefits included in this contract are:

Under the terms of this contract the successful supplier(s) will be required to deliver Community Benefits in support of the authority’s economic and social objectives. Accordingly, contract performance conditions may relate in particular to social and environmental considerations. The Community Benefits included in this contract are:

a commitment to support responsible investment that delivers impact for now and for Future generations. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are central to WEPCo's goals and how it operates: they shape our strategy and our projects. We have ambitious plans for a Social Value programme that supports Wales Social, Economic, Environmental and Cultural priorities and are looking for a partner to support these goals.

The buyer considers that this contract is suitable for consortia bidding.

5.2

Additional Documentation

5.3

Publication date of this notice