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Vacant property utility supply

Sheffield City Council

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

18 Aug 2026 at 11:47

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Planning

23 Mar 2026 at 15:30

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Sheffield City Council is procuring utility management and supply for its vacant residential properties. The requirement covers gas and electricity distribution and related services, including meter reading and account management. The appointed provider is expected to maintain a direct relationship with the Council rather than operate through a third-party intermediary. The purpose is to improve control over property and account data, speed up billing and account issue resolution, support debt and dispute management, and provide operational responsiveness across the Council’s void property portfolio. The services are delivered in Sheffield, within the United Kingdom. This is a services procurement in the utilities sector, relevant to energy suppliers and providers with the systems and operational capability to manage utilities for a sizeable portfolio of empty homes.

The procurement is complete and a supplier has been selected. British Gas Trading Limited received the award for the single lot, with an awarded value of £1,720,000 excluding VAT (£2,064,000 including VAT). The award is pending, with signature scheduled for 30 September 2026. The awarded contract period is 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2030. The Council used a direct award procedure under the utilities regime, justified by technical reasons and its assessment that British Gas Trading Limited was the only supplier able to meet the requirement. The original estimated value was £700,000 excluding VAT (£840,000 including VAT). The procurement followed preliminary market engagement, published on 1 April 2026, which received no submissions or responses. Evaluation was therefore based on the stated direct-award justification rather than a competitive tender.

This outcome demonstrates established demand from Sheffield City Council for a single energy provider able to supply and manage gas and electricity directly for vacant residential properties. A credible future competitor would need the scale and infrastructure to serve a sizeable void property portfolio, together with reliable metering, billing and account-management systems. It would also need proven capability in resolving debt, billing disputes and account problems promptly, maintaining accurate property and account data, and responding operationally to Council requirements. Relevant suppliers are likely to be established energy companies or specialist utility operators with direct supply arrangements, robust customer and contract management, and the capacity to provide an integrated service without relying on an intermediary. Voluntary, community and social enterprises were identified as suitable to participate, although the selected supplier is a large company.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Vacant property utility supply

Notice Description

It is Sheffield City Councils intention to award a contract of up to four years to British Gas Trading Limited. The contract will see British Gas Trading manage and supply utilities to vacant residential properties. Sheffield City Council requires a direct relationship with the utility supplier and wants to avoid the additional layer of supplier dependency created by the use of a third-party intermediary. The Council would not have a direct contractual or operational relationship with the energy provider, resulting in reduced control, longer communication routes, potential delays in resolving billing and account issues, and less visibility over property and account data. Given the scale and complexity of Sheffield's void property portfolio, a direct relationship with the utility provider is considered essential to enable timely account management, efficient debt resolution, dispute management and operational responsiveness. A Preliminary market engagement notice was published via YORtender on the 1st April 2026, the notice was published to the Find a Tender Service with the Council not receiving any submissions or responses. As a result, British Gas Trading is believed to be the only company able to fulfil these requirements and therefore, the Council intends to proceed with the award unless valid objection is made during the standstill period.

Planning Information

https://uk.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_s.asp?PID=104016&TID=100109189&B= All dates and contract values shown are estimates and subject Sheffield City Council issuing a tender.

Procurement Information

It is Sheffield City Councils intention to award a contract of up to four years to British Gas Trading Limited. The contract will see British Gas Trading manage and supply utilities to vacant residential properties. Sheffield City Council requires a direct relationship with the utility supplier and wants to avoid the additional layer of supplier dependency created by the use of a third-party intermediary. The Council would not have a direct contractual or operational relationship with the energy provider, resulting in reduced control, longer communication routes, potential delays in resolving billing and account issues, and less visibility over property and account data. Given the scale and complexity of Sheffield's void property portfolio, a direct relationship with the utility provider is considered essential to enable timely account management, efficient debt resolution, dispute management and operational responsiveness. A Preliminary market engagement notice was published via YORtender on the 1st April 2026, the notice was published to the Find a Tender Service with the Council not receiving any submissions or responses. As a result, British Gas Trading is believed to be the only company able to fulfil these requirements and therefore, the Council intends to proceed with the award unless valid objection is made during the standstill period.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0671aa
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078476-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK5 - Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
VCSE
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

65 - Public utilities

70 - Real estate services

76 - Services related to the oil and gas industry

CPV Codes

65200000 - Gas distribution and related services

65300000 - Electricity distribution and related services

65500000 - Meter reading service

70331000 - Residential property services

76000000 - Services related to the oil and gas industry

76100000 - Professional services for the gas industry

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£700,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£1,720,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
18 Aug 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
22 Jun 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Oct 2026 - 30 Sep 2030 4-5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Sheffield City Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
SHEFFIELD
Postcode
S1 2HH
Postcode Area
Sheffield
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLE Yorkshire and The Humber
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLE3 South Yorkshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLE32 Sheffield
Delivery Location
TLE32 Sheffield
Local Authority
Sheffield
Electoral Ward
City
Westminster Constituency
Sheffield Central

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

British Gas Trading Limited

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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