Source: https://tendernation.io/opportunities/01a13d0e-5ab2-71bd-ae54-511975a6dcbc/soft-market-testing-steam-museum-of-the-great-western-railway-catering-review pending GB open procedure Suitable for SMEs # Soft Market Testing - STEAM: Museum of the Great Western Railway Catering Review [Swindon Borough Council](https://tendernation.io/buyers/swindon-borough-council) Estimated value £2,500,000 Published 3 Feb 2025 Deadline Rolling deadline ## Who can bid - Buyer says suitable for SMEs The buyer ticked “suitable for SMEs” on the notice. Anyone can still bid. - Buyer says suitable for VCSEs The buyer ticked “suitable for voluntary, community and social enterprises” on the notice. - Open procedure Anyone can submit a full tender; there is no shortlisting stage. [More contracts for small businesses and VCSEs](https://tendernation.io/opportunities/for-small-businesses) ## About this tender Swindon Borough Council is seeking to explore future options to undertake the events, corporate hospitality and café catering opportunities at 'STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway' in Swindon. This short guide and Soft Market Testing (SMT) questionnaire have been produced to enable Swindon Borough Council to engage with potential suppliers and to understand the market and the potential interest in this opportunity. Any information provided will only be used for research purposes. This questionnaire does not constitute an Invitation to Tender process, and will not be judged against any criteria, nor will it inform any potential tender process in the future and no award of any contract will be made as part of this process The proposed initial contract term is 60 months with an option to extend for a further 36 months (2 periods of 12 months) for a potential total contract term of 8 years with a total initial contract spend across 8 years of circa £2,500,000. Information to the proposed opportunity is provided in the Soft Market Testing (SMT) questionnaire The SMT questionnaire can be found at [forms.office.com/e/k99zvnvBzg](https://forms.office.com/e/k99zvnvBzg) . Please note that when you have completed the SMT questionnaire, this will be submitted directly to Swindon Borough Council (Project Team) and not via the portal. For further background information and the draft terms and conditions, Suppliers will need to Register as a Supplier on the portal, [supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk](https://www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk), then Register an Interest before obtaining these documents. In the event of difficulties registering as a supplier, please refer to the System Administrator Proactis support team Clarifications are to be submitted in writing via Messaging in ProContract tender portal by 21st February 2025, 1200 hrs UK Local time. The Council's responses to these clarification questions will be issued periodically on the ProContract tender portal. SMT Responses are required to be directly submitted via the SMT Questionnaire link no later than 3rd March 2025, 1200 hrs UK Local time. Please note this SMT request has been advertised on Contracts Finder, Supplying the South West Portal, [supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk](https://www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk/) . This is the only portal that includes the background information and the draft terms and conditions required to respond to this soft market testing, bearing Project Id: DN758076. Read full description ## CPV classification Catering services Source Contracts Finder (UK) [View official notice](https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/b8209626-2b6a-4053-b1dc-bf682526cdc0) Never miss a tender like this again Get AI summaries, deadline alerts and a bid pipeline for tenders matched to your business. Free to start. 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