Award

Celtic Sea Floating Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5 - Project Development Area 2 - Direct Award

THE CROWN ESTATE

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

30 Jan 2026 at 17:29

Award

19 Nov 2025 at 08:39

Summary of the contracting process

The Crown Estate, located in London, has finalised the procurement process through a direct award to Celtic Sea Offshore Wind Farm Limited for the development of a floating offshore wind farm in the Celtic Sea. This project will lie within Project Development Area 2 of the Celtic Sea Floating Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5. With a target capacity of 1.5GW, the contract spans from 18 February 2026 to 17 February 2036. Despite an unsuccessful competitive tendering process, the contract's direct award was necessitated to avoid further delays and was conducted under the UK Procurement Act 2023, section 43. The procurement method aligns with a special regime for concession contracts, and the upcoming standstill period concludes on 10 February 2026, facilitating a timely start to operations. The award notice was published on 30 January 2026.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses involved in renewable energy projects, particularly in marine and wind power sectors. Companies specialising in services such as construction-related services, electricity generation, and installation of wind turbines can benefit greatly from participating in developments like these. Given the large-scale nature of the project, large businesses with expertise in infrastructure, supply chain collaboration, and innovative engineering solutions will find this opportunity especially suitable to expand their portfolio and footprint in the offshore wind sector in the UK. The project promises to stimulate investment in supply chain and port infrastructure critical for establishing the Celtic Sea as a centre for floating wind technology development.

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Notice Title

Celtic Sea Floating Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5 - Project Development Area 2 - Direct Award

Notice Description

The Crown Estate will enter into a concession contract for the grant of new seabed rights to Celtic Sea Offshore Wind Farm Limited ("CSOW") for the development of a new floating offshore wind farm within a project development area (a "PDA") in the Celtic Sea, which has a maximum potential energy generation capacity of 1.5GW (the "Contract"). The Contract is an 'agreement for lease', in which CSOW will acquire: - the rights necessary to develop a floating offshore wind farm in the relevant PDA; and - the option to enter into a lease for the construction and operation of the wind farm; for the purposes of the generation, transmission and sale of electricity (or other forms of energy, where permitted), subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions detailed in the Contract. As envisaged by Paragraph 5, Schedule 3 of the Procurement Act 2023 ("PA23"), the Crown Estate is unable to estimate the maximum contract value for the PDA which is the subject of this notice. Due to the nature of the market and the activities to which the Contract relates, it is impossible to predict what the likely overall value of the concession to CSOW will be. The maximum contract value has therefore been stated in this notice as [00000 GBP]. The Crown Estate has accordingly treated the Contract as having a value that is higher than the threshold for concession contracts in Schedule 1 of the PA23. The option fee price which will be payable by CSOW to The Crown Estate under the Contract will be PS350/MW/annum. The Contract has been awarded by way of direct award to CSOW following an unsuccessful tendering procedure, in accordance with section 43 of the PA23. CWSOW is not an excluded supplier. The contract was not awarded under any other provision of the PA23. The Crown Estate held a competitive tender process for the granting of new seabed rights to developers for the development of new floating offshore wind farms within three PDAs, which was advertised by way of a concession notice published on Find a Tender on 28 February 2024 (notice identifier: 2024/S 000-006434) (Celtic Sea Floating Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5 ("Round 5")). The Round 5 tender process was designed to result in the award of three separate agreements for lease to three different successful suppliers - one for each of the three PDAs. Two bidders remained at the final (auction) stage of the process and bid successfully for two of the PDAs. Under the rules of the Round 5 tender process no bidder could be awarded rights in respect of more than one PDA and no tender was received for the third PDA. As a result, for the purposes of section 43(2) of the PA 2023, no suitable tenders were received for the agreement for lease for the third PDA. The Crown Estate considers that an award of the contract under section 19 of the PA 2023 is not possible in the circumstances. A delay to granting rights in respect of the third PDA while a further full competitive tender process is designed and run risks a number of potentially significant adverse effects on all three PDAs. Timely deployment of all three PDAs is needed to provide the certainty the supply chain, ports and other critical infrastructure need to plan and invest in floating wind in the UK. Without the full award of three PDAs, it is possible that the necessary investment in supply chain and ports may not be forthcoming (or may be delayed) resulting in possible delay to delivery. Any delays to the award of the third PDA could also delay skills development and the necessary investment in people required to support Round 5, causing delays in deployment of the programme. In addition, the experience and outcome of the Round 5 tender provide compelling evidence that the current challenging market conditions are such that a further, lengthy full tender process is unlikely to deliver a successful outcome for the third PDA.

Procurement Information

Important note: The contract which is the subject of this notice is being awarded by The Crown Estate by way of switching to a direct award following an unsuccessful tendering procedure, as explained further below. The contract is to be awarded directly to a supplier that is not an excluded supplier by virtue of section 43 of the Procurement Act 2023 ("PA 2023"). The Crown Estate held a competitive tender process for the granting of new seabed rights to developers for the development of new floating offshore wind farms within three PDAs, which was advertised by way of a concession notice published on Find a Tender on 28 February 2024 (notice identifier: 2024/S 000-006434) (Celtic Sea Floating Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5 ("Round 5")). The Round 5 tender process was designed to result in the award of three separate agreements for lease to three different successful suppliers - one for each of the three PDAs. Two bidders remained at the final (auction) stage of the process and bid successfully for two of the PDAs. Under the rules of the Round 5 tender process no bidder could be awarded rights in respect of more than one PDA and no tender was received for the third PDA. The Crown Estate considers that for the purposes of section 43(2) of the PA 2023 no tenders were received for the agreement for lease for the third PDA. The Crown Estate considers that an award of the contract under section 19 of the PA 2023 is not possible in the circumstances. A delay to granting rights in respect of the third PDA while a further full competitive tender process is designed and run risks a number of potentially significant adverse effects on all three PDAs. Timely deployment of all three PDAs is needed to provide the certainty the supply chain, ports and other critical infrastructure need to plan and invest in floating wind in the UK. Without the full award of three PDAs, it is possible that the necessary investment in supply chain and ports may not be forthcoming (or may be delayed) resulting in possible delay to delivery. Any delays to the award of the third PDA could also delay skills development and the necessary investment in people required to support Round 5, causing delays in deployment of the programme. In addition, the experience and outcome of the Round 5 tender provide compelling evidence that the current challenging market conditions are such that a further, lengthy full tender process is unlikely to deliver a successful outcome for the third PDA.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e3e2
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008670-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

09 - Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy

31 - Electrical machinery, apparatus, equipment and consumables; lighting

45 - Construction work

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services


CPV Codes

09310000 - Electricity

31121320 - Wind turbines

31121340 - Wind farm

45200000 - Works for complete or part construction and civil engineering work

45251160 - Wind-power installation works

45262421 - Offshore mooring work

45262422 - Subsea drilling work

45262424 - Offshore-module fabrication work

45315200 - Turbine works

45315300 - Electricity supply installations

71500000 - Construction-related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
30 Jan 20263 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
16 Oct 20254 months ago
Contract Period
18 Feb 2026 - 17 Feb 2036 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
THE CROWN ESTATE
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
enquiries@thecrownestate.co.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1Y 4AH
Post Town
South West London
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified

Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
2
Supplier Names

CELTIC SEA OFFSHORE WIND FARM

OCEAN WINDS

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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