Contract award notice – utilities
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
Thames Water Utilities Ltd
Procurement Support Centre — 3rd Floor East, C/O Mail Room, Rose Kiln Court
Reading
RG2 0BY
UK
E-mail: procurement.support.centre@thameswater.co.uk
NUTS: UKJ11
Internet address(es)
Main address: www.thameswater.co.uk
I.6) Main activity
Water
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Pensions Master Trust
Reference number: FA1447
II.1.2) Main CPV code
66520000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Thames Water intends to enter into an agreement with a suitable Service Provider for the provision of a new defined contribution (DC) Master Trust pension scheme.
Thames Water is looking to create an inspiring and innovative approach to its DC pension scheme, with the aim of providing a benefits package that will contribute to the long-term financial wellbeing of its people and support its ambition to be an employer of choice.
The duration of this agreement is an initial term of 3 years, with options to extend for a further 5 years (8 years max term).
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Lowest offer:
/ Highest offer:
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
66141000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKI
UKJ
Main site or place of performance:
Whole of the Thames Water region.
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Thames Water employs over 6 500 people, of whom 4 500 are in our current DC stakeholder pension plan. We are seeking a new defined contribution (DC) Master Trust pension scheme, which:
• meets the standards of the Pensions Regulator's Master Trust assurance framework and is seeking or has achieved Master Trust authorisation.
• provides insight and recommendations to ensure that our DC Master Trust scheme remains in step with market trends, industry benchmarks and standards.
• secures a high level of member engagement to and throughout retirement.
• uses a leading edge web portal to ensure that members are fully engaged with their pension and also to enable simplified employer administration and contribution upload.
We reserve the right to down-select service provider(s) during the tender process.
Please refer to the specification contained within Section 4.1 of the Draft ITN survey for further details.
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
Thames Water envisages that the contract will be awarded for an initial term of 3 years with options to extend annually up to a maximum term of 8 years.
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated with call for competition
IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement with a single operator.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
No
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:
2019/S 193-470124
Section V: Award of contract
Lot No: 1
Contract No: 1
Title: Pensions Master Trust
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
04/05/2020
V.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Aon Solutions UK Ltd
London
UK
NUTS: UKI
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
All suppliers who wish to respond to this notice must request a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) by using the link in Section I.3 of this notice, i.e. https://www.thameswater.co.uk/procurement
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Thames Water Utilities Ltd
Reading
UK
VI.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:
Thames Water Utilities Ltd will incorporate a standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. That notification will provide full information on the award decision. The standstill period, which will be for a minimum of 10 calendar days, provides time for unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into.
The Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).
VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
Thames Water Utilities Ltd
Reading
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
15/09/2020