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LTC Strategic Regulatory Advice

National Highways

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

07 Sep 2026 at 08:36

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

28 Aug 2026 at 10:53

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

24 Aug 2026 at 14:26

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

National Highways Limited procured specialist business and management consultancy services for the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC). The work is to develop a regulatory approach and plan based on regulatory best practice, with the aim of gaining support from the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail and Road. It builds on work already undertaken on the Economic Regulatory Regime and business-plan development, and supports the development of LTC’s regulatory business plan and regulatory strategy. The requirement covers one lot and is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises. Delivery is across the United Kingdom. The selected service provider is Fingleton Limited, a London-based small and medium-sized enterprise.

This procurement is complete and was awarded through a direct award. The award to Fingleton Limited was made on 4 August 2026, with a gross value of £312,000 (£260,000 excluding VAT). The contract was signed on 31 August 2026 and runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 December 2027. The award record gives a service period from 10 September 2026 to 31 December 2027. National Highways justified the direct award on the supplier’s extensive existing knowledge of LTC, prior work on the regulatory regime and business plan, specialist regulatory experience and unique insight into the Office of Rail and Road. Continuity was considered necessary to avoid duplicated preparatory work, delay and divergent advice. Delivery is measured against key milestones for time and quality.

This requirement indicates demand for advisers able to combine infrastructure-sector regulatory expertise with practical business-plan and regulatory-strategy development. A credible future competitor would need a strong understanding of the regulatory environment affecting major transport infrastructure, including the expectations and working practices of the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail and Road. Relevant experience of economic regulation, regulatory business plans and investability would be important, as would the ability to build on established project knowledge rather than restart analysis. The buyer’s rationale shows that continuity, efficient use of previous work, clear advice and delivery of milestones to the required time and quality were central considerations. Specialist consultancies with demonstrable comparable transport-regulatory experience would therefore be best placed to compete when this requirement returns.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

LTC Strategic Regulatory Advice

Notice Description

Engagement of an independent specialist organisation to develop an approach and plan for LTC based on regulatory best practice, designed to gain traction with the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

Procurement Information

The supplier has gained extensive knowledge of LTC and will build on the work already done in relation to the Economic Regulatory Regime (ERR) and business plan development thus providing the most efficient and effective advice to LTC. The supplier provides unique insights into the Office of Road and Rail (ORR), and have deep regulatory experience to support the development of LTC's regulatory business plan and regulatory strategy. The continuity of service across this workstream is imperative if LTC are to meet their timetable with regards to the investible business. Bringing on a new advisor at this stage when preparatory work has already been undertaken by will almost certainly necessitate replication of scope in order for the incoming parties to get comfortable with the current status, duplicating the work already undertaken and billed at this stage and creating the opportunity for unhelpful divergences in position As such the current advisor has been significantly specialised by virtue of their experience to date on LTC that they are uniquely qualified to meet the scope, rendering any broader process ultimately uncompetitive The proposed scope does not represent a departure from the work done to date so s significant preparatory activity has been undertaken, and this is a build on such work, thus providing best value for money for LTC

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06eaa5
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084178-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79410000 - Business and management consultancy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£260,000 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
£260,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
7 Sep 20263 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
4 Aug 20261 months ago
Contract Period
1 Sep 2026 - 31 Dec 2027 1-2 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
National Highways
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BIRMINGHAM
Postcode
B4 6GA
Postcode Area
Birmingham
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLG West Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLG3 West Midlands
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLG31 Birmingham
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Birmingham
Electoral Ward
Ladywood
Westminster Constituency
Birmingham Ladywood

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Fingleton Limited

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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