Planning

Science Museum Group Security Services

SCIENCE MUSEUM GROUP

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

02 Dec 2025 at 17:11

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

02 Dec 2025 at 17:08

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Science Museum Group (SMG), a central government public authority, is preparing to re-tender its security services contract, transitioning from the existing consortium approach with the V&A Museum and the Natural History Museum. This procurement process is in the planning stage, with preliminary market engagement underway to shape the future operating model. Key dates include a supplier webinar on 16th December 2025, and the submission deadline for preliminary survey responses is 9th January 2026. The procurement seeks to secure services by 1st April 2027 across various UK regions, including London, Yorkshire, and the North West. The intended service provision covers essential security measures and will be offered in multiple site-based lots. The contract duration extends between three to five years, with a possibility for further extension.

This tender represents a substantial opportunity for businesses specialising in security services, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs). The planned division into lots allows companies to bid for one or multiple contracts, providing flexibility and scope for industry collaboration. This aligns with SMG's understanding of the market appetite and technology utilisation, promoting innovative solutions in security. With an expected annual contract value of £6 million excluding VAT, this engagement offers considerable growth potential for providers focused on access control, incident response, event security, and emergency readiness across prestigious institutions within the Science Museum Group. Responding to the market engagement survey and participating in the webinar will enable insights that can strategically position businesses for success in the upcoming competitive tendering process.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Science Museum Group Security Services

Notice Description

The Science Museum Group (SMG) is conducting this preliminary market engagement exercise in relation to its security services requirements. The Science Museum Group comprises the Science Museum in London, the National Railway Museum in York, Locomotion in Shildon, the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester and the Science and Innovation Park in Wiltshire. You can find out more about SMG here: https://www.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/about-us The current security contract is held as part of a Consortium with the V&A Museum and Natural History Museum which expires in March 2027. SMG has decided to leave the Consortium and proceed alone for the re-tendering of its security services in early 2026. The contract is expected to be for a duration of 3-5 years with the option of extending for up to an additional three years. The expected contract value is approximately PS6m per year (ex. VAT). Service provision will be divided into multiple lots. Exact lot structures are to be agreed but they will be site-based, and it is expected that there will be three or possibly four lots. Bidders will be permitted to bid for one, multiple, or all lots and will need to work collaboratively with other security providers if multiple contracts are awarded. SMG requires the security provider(s) to provide services to include (but not limited to): * Access control: monitoring entry/exit points, preventing unauthorised access, and enforcing visitor/staff protocols; * Patrol duties: conduct scheduled patrols, with a focus on high-risk areas, ensuring compliance with security standards; * Incident response: respond promptly to alarms, emergencies, and security incidents, escalating in line with SMG procedures; * Event security: support exhibitions, VIP visits, and special events by managing crowd control, safeguarding assets, and ensuring compliance with event-specific risk assessments, participate in event briefings and adapt to dynamic requirements. * Reporting and documentation: accurately log patrols, incidents, and event-related observations using agreed systems to maintain transparency and consistency in reporting; * Emergency support: assist with fire evacuations and emergency procedures and participate in drills and readiness exercises; * Compliance and standards: adhere to SIA licensing requirements, cybersecurity requirements, SMG policies, and relevant legislation and maintain uniform standards and professional conduct; * Asset protection: safeguard collections and high-value items during normal operations and special activities (e.g. object moves, exhibitions).

Planning Information

We are looking to go out to market for security services in early 2026 for a start date of 1 April 2027. The purpose of this engagement is to support SMG’s decision on the operating model moving forwards. We would welcome your views to aid the decision and are issuing this survey as part of our preliminary market engagement. The aims of the survey are to: • Support SMG’s understanding of the market appetite for contracting in a single or multiple lots. • Support SMG’s understanding of the market capability for contracting with the Group, particularly from small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”). • Support SMG’s understanding of the use of technology by companies. The survey can be accessed using the following Microsoft Form link: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=wLxn6XDAyEGffoBgafYzC1scmsTAxOVDhY9jNuLBokBUM1JUT1dDWU9QQ0hNOFNOQ0hVREY0N1NHWC4u&route=shorturl The survey will close on Friday 9th January 2026 so please submit your responses by this date. Responses are for information only and will not be scored or influence future evaluation. We will not share responses to this survey with any third parties except in an anonymised format. We have carried out a conflicts interest assessment for all individuals that will have sight of the responses received. To fulfil our duty under the Regulation 16(3) of the Procurement Act 2023 we will include in the tender pack an aggregated summary of all responses received once we go out to market for these services, but the summary will not contain any personally identifiable information. SMG will also be holding a supplier webinar on Tuesday 16th December 2025 between 1:30PM and 2:30PM, where suppliers will be able to hear more about SMG and how we operate in relation to security. To join the webinar, please use this link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MWRlZGEwYjgtZjc2OC00ZjJjLWI5NzUtMzhkYjA4ODA5YzRh%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22e967bcc0-c070-41c8-9f7e-806069f6330b%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22c49a1c5b-c4c0-43e5-858f-6336e2c1a240%22%7d Suppliers are welcome to send any questions in advance using this Microsoft Form: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=wLxn6XDAyEGffoBgafYzC5cE-X9GfdpPiWXWqlTsfOBUREgxRk42QkFLVVZQMkJGMFFSTk0xMU9MWi4u&route=shorturl Please submit all your questions by 15th of December 2025 12:00PM. We will also try and answer any questions on the day. Access to the questions and responses will be made available to potential bidders in the tender pack.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05ed68
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079114-2025
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
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

79710000 - Security services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£48,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
2 Dec 20252 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
9 Jan 20262 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 Mar 2027 - 31 Mar 2030 3-4 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
SCIENCE MUSEUM GROUP
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
procurement@sciencemuseum.ac.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW7 2DD
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)
TLI33 Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLI London, TLJ South East (England)
Local Authority
Kensington and Chelsea
Electoral Ward
Brompton & Hans Town
Westminster Constituency
Kensington and Bayswater

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

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