Planning

Haldon Forest Park Cafe Concession

FORESTRY ENGLAND (FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE FORESTRY COMMISSION)

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

07 Jul 2025 at 15:06

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Forestry England, representing the Forestry Commission, is currently in the planning stage for a procurement process aimed at finding a suitable operator for a café concession at Haldon Forest Park, a popular visitor destination near Exeter in the United Kingdom. The opportunity falls under the 'services' industry category, specifically cafeteria services, with legal references to UKPGA 2023/54. An engagement process is scheduled to end on 31 July 2025, and further information is anticipated to be published by early August 2025. The procurement is being conducted to establish a lease agreement expected to commence in March 2026, with the café opening to the public in April 2026. The total value of the lease is estimated at approximately £5 million over a term of five years, with possible extensions of up to two years.

This tender presents a substantial business opportunity for service providers in the hospitality sector, particularly those specializing in high-footfall leisure destinations. Businesses with experience in operating within parks or attractions and offering catering services, including the use of locally sourced produce, are well-suited to compete. The operator will play a key role in enhancing the visitor experience at Haldon Forest Park, tapping into a steady flow of visitors and benefiting from the park's reputation and amenities. Interested parties are invited to submit expressions of interest as there is potential for further market engagement based on initial feedback.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Haldon Forest Park Cafe Concession

Notice Description

Forestry England is seeking expressions of interest from operators wishing to provide a cafe concession at Haldon Forest Park. The popular visitor attraction https://www.forestryengland.uk/haldon-forest-park hosts over 500,000 visits annually with the cafe serving an important part of the visitor offer. Walking, cycling and running trails, play areas, Go Ape treetop courses and many more activities can be found on site. It's the perfect, great value day out in nature for everyone from families to outdoor enthusiasts. The cafe is a memorable experience for seasonal visitors and a vibrant hub for our community of regular visitors. Haldon Forest Park is only 15 minutes from Exeter and Newton Abbot, just off the A38 and 45 minutes from Plymouth. The cafe lease area contains approximately 35 indoor covers and 36 outdoor covers, with the potential to house more indoor seating in an adjacent studio. There is further picnic table seating nearby for 100 persons. The cafe will be required to open daily (except for Christmas day) with minimum opening hours of 10am to 4pm and should serve a range of hot and cold food and drinks with local sourced produce where possible. Currently we anticipate the lease period being 5 years in duration with extension options of 1 year + 1 year, the lease Heads of Terms will be available in the tender documents which we expect to be published August 2025. The total value of the lease opportunity over the term is expected to be in the region of PS5million. We are seeking an operator to commence the lease in March 2026 with the concession opening to the public by the beginning of April 2026. Expressions of Interest Expressions of interest should be submitted via email to sam.harris@forestryengland.uk. Following consideration of the initial expressions of interest, Forestry England may wish to engage in further soft market testing with respondents. Therefore, at this stage the scope of the lease and lease duration is still subject to change based on feedback from the market. This prior information notice does not commit Forestry England to any future procurement or any subsequent decisions based on the output of the market sounding exercise. Forestry England reserves the right not to proceed to a formal procurement process. To view this notice, please click here: https://forestryengland.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=963234554

Planning Information

Forestry England is engaging with the market solely to understand the interest in the opportunity. No further market testing or engagement to further define the scope of the requirement will be carried out.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-055a91
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037977-2025
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

CPV Codes

55330000 - Cafeteria services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£5,000,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
7 Jul 202510 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
4 Aug 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Mar 2026 - 28 Feb 2031 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
FORESTRY ENGLAND (FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE FORESTRY COMMISSION)
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BRISTOL
Postcode
BS16 1EJ
Post Town
Bristol
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK5 West of England
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK52 Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire
Delivery Location
TLK4 Devon
Local Authority
South Gloucestershire
Electoral Ward
Stoke Park & Cheswick
Westminster Constituency
Filton and Bradley Stoke

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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