AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council has published a pending award to DOWHIGH LIMITED for HM1 carriageway resurfacing and related highways maintenance across Sefton. The published award is not yet a signed or active contract: the standstill ends on 21 October 2026 and a future signature date is scheduled for 2 November 2026.
Published outcomePending award to DOWHIGH LIMITED for lot 1, with an award value of £80,000,000 excluding VAT (£96,000,000 gross).
Market significanceA substantial single-supplier highways works opportunity with a five-year initial term and up to three one-year performance-dependent extensions; the notice states that no volume of work is guaranteed.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
DOWHIGH LIMITED
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · 80000000 GBP · Pending award
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Award 1 names DOWHIGH LIMITED as supplier and relates to lot 1. Supplier identity is verified by Companies House number 01210665.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Published notice
99% confidenceContract award notice published 12 October 2026
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Award document 096120-2026 datePublished: 2026-10-12T14:16:53+01:00.
Award status
99% confidencePending
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Award 1 status is "pending".
Standstill period
99% confidenceEnds 21 October 2026 at 23:59:59+01:00
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Award 1 standstillPeriod.endDate: 2026-10-21T23:59:59+01:00.
Signature milestone
98% confidenceFuture signature scheduled for 2 November 2026
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Award milestone type futureSignatureDate, dueDate 2026-11-02T23:59:59Z, status scheduled.
Contract commencement
96% confidencePlanned for 18 December 2026
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Award 1 contractPeriod.startDate: 2026-12-18T00:00:00Z.
VALUES
Published values explained
Award value excluding VAT
99% confidence£80,000,000
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Award 1 value.amount: 80000000 GBP.
Award value including VAT
99% confidence£96,000,000
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Award 1 value.amountGross: 96000000 GBP.
Value allocation
98% confidenceSingle award covering lot 1
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The £80,000,000 award value is recorded against award 1, which relates to lot 1 and names one supplier.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Tender notice first published
98% confidence22 May 2026
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Release history records tender notice 047807-2026 on 2026-05-22.
Tender update published
98% confidence9 June 2026
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Release history records tender update 054221-2026 on 2026-06-09.
Submission deadline
99% confidence3 July 2026 at 12:00+01:00
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Process submission_deadline: 2026-07-03T12:00:00+01:00.
Award decision date
98% confidence12 October 2026
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Award 1 date: 2026-10-12T00:00:00+01:00.
Initial contract end
98% confidence17 December 2031
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Award 1 contractPeriod.endDate: 2031-12-17T23:59:59Z.
Maximum possible end
98% confidence17 December 2034
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Award 1 contractPeriod.maxExtentDate: 2034-12-17T23:59:59Z.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
98% confidenceCarriageway resurfacing and associated highway and footway maintenance
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Tender title and description specify HM1 carriageway resurfacing, patching, repair, reconstruction and refurbishment.
Key activities
97% confidenceSurfacing, cold planning and recycling of arisings, utility chamber adjustments, road markings, drainage works, traffic management, utility searches, investigations and public communications
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These activities are listed in the tender description.
Geographic delivery
98% confidenceSeparate task-order sites anywhere in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton
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Tender description states works will be at separate sites within Sefton; award delivery address region is UKD.
Procurement classification
98% confidenceEngineering/construction works and highway, road and surface works
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Award classifications: CPV 45220000 and 45233000.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceOpen procedure
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Process procurementMethod and procurementMethodDetails state open/Open procedure.
Legal framework
99% confidenceProcurement Act 2023
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Tender legalBasis is UKPGA 2023/54 and description states the procedure is under the Procurement Act 2023.
Preliminary market engagement
98% confidenceNot undertaken
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Tender description says the Council assessed preliminary market engagement was not required.
Competition information
99% confidenceNumber of bids and evaluation results not published in the supplied data
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No bid count, bidder ranking, score or assessment result is supplied.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Initial term
98% confidence5 years, planned from 18 December 2026 to 17 December 2031
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Award contractPeriod start and end dates; tender description describes an initial five-year period.
Extension options
98% confidenceUp to three individual or block 12-month extensions, subject to performance
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Award renewal description states 3 x 12-month options; tender description ties extensions to satisfactory KPI performance review.
Maximum term
98% confidenceUp to 8 years, ending no later than 17 December 2034
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Award maxExtentDate is 2034-12-17; tender description proposes 5 years plus up to 3 years of extensions.
Performance management
98% confidenceKPIs will monitor performance and inform extension decisions
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Tender description states KPI monitoring will be used to determine whether extensions are offered.
Work volume
99% confidenceNo volume of work guaranteed
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Tender description explicitly states that participation and appointment do not guarantee any given volume of work.
Additional options
95% confidencePotential works within scope arising from unforeseen needs, legislative change or sector innovation
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Award options description.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial structure
97% confidenceSingle-supplier, task-order-based highways maintenance arrangement
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Tender description seeks one contractor and states work will be delivered at separate sites described in task orders.
Delivery flexibility
96% confidenceThe Council is open to innovative delivery methods, including supplier partnerships
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Tender description.
Value interpretation
98% confidenceThe published £80m value is the pending award value; it should not be interpreted as guaranteed workload
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Award value is £80m, while the tender description says no volume of work is guaranteed.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Award completion status
99% confidenceThe record is a pending award, not evidence of a signed, concluded or active contract
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Award status is pending; standstill ends 21 October 2026 and future signature is only scheduled for 2 November 2026.
Lot detail
99% confidenceLot 1 has no published title, description or separate lot value in the supplied data
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Lot record contains no title, description or value.
Evaluation transparency
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice: bid count, tender scores, award rationale and pricing breakdown
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No such fields are present in the supplied data.
Supplier identity
99% confidenceSupplier identity is verified
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Verified company name DOWHIGH LIMITED and company number 01210665 are supplied with company-number match method.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The published record is a pending award; it does not confirm contract signature, conclusion or commencement.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: bid count, bidder scores, award rationale, pricing breakdown and detailed evaluation results.
- Lot 1 has no supplied title, description or individual lot value.
- The notice provides a maximum award value, but states that no volume of work is guaranteed.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
DOWHIGH LIMITEDSefton Metropolitan Borough Councilcarriageway resurfacinghighways maintenanceHM1pending contract awardProcurement Act 2023
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who is the named supplier for Sefton's HM1 carriageway resurfacing award?
DOWHIGH LIMITED, verified against Companies House number 01210665.
Has the Sefton carriageway resurfacing contract been signed?
No. The supplied award record is pending, with a future signature date scheduled for 2 November 2026.
What is the published value of the pending award?
£80,000,000 excluding VAT, or £96,000,000 including VAT.
How long could the arrangement run?
The initial period is planned to end in December 2031, with up to three one-year performance-dependent extensions to December 2034.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.