---
title: "Preliminary Market Engagement for Leeds City Centre Christmas Market Operator"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05d903"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05d903"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05d903.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05d903.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "LEEDS CITY COUNCIL"
published: "2025-11-03"
---

# Preliminary Market Engagement for Leeds City Centre Christmas Market Operator

Buyer: LEEDS CITY COUNCIL  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05d903

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[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05d903.json)

## Summary

Leeds City Council is currently in the planning stage of a procurement process to find an operator for the Leeds City Centre Christmas Market. The contract, valued at £250,000, is set to start in September 2026 and last until September 2029. This opportunity falls within the services industry category, particularly event services and cultural event organisation. Interested businesses must complete a market engagement questionnaire accessible through YORtender by 24th November 2025. The Christmas Market will be hosted in City Square, Leeds city centre, and aims to provide a wide variety of artisan stalls and festive experiences.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses involved in event management, cultural events, and hospitality services. SMEs and VCSEs are encouraged to participate, making it an inclusive opportunity for smaller organisations to expand their market presence and establish a reputation within the Leeds community. The procurement is primarily designed for those with expertise in planning and executing large-scale, public-facing events. Business growth can be realised through the visibility and commercial opportunities associated with operating a high-profile event within Leeds city centre, attracting a diverse audience during the festive period.

## Notice

Leeds City Council (The Council) is looking to undertake a procurement process to appoint an experienced operator or operators to deliver a Christmas Market in City Square in Leeds city centre. This will include the provision of artisan market stalls, a hospitality offer and other associated festive animation. This preliminary market engagement exercise is being undertaken in order to obtain views of suppliers and provide advance information for our Christmas Market Operator tender and subsequent contract.

### Planning Information

A market sounding exercise is being undertaken via a questionnaire, which will be published on YORtender. Suppliers are required to be registered on YORtender in order to access the questionnaire. Once logged in, please search for the opportunity using reference 104874. Please complete the PME document and submit via the YORtender portal before the closing date (12 noon on Monday 24th November 2025). Clarification questions should be raised via the YORtender portal prior to the deadline. Interested parties should note that if this market sounding exercise identifies that the market is extremely limited or there is a lack of understanding regarding the subject matter, the council reserves the right to seek authorisation through its governance procedure to enter into a contract with an organisation that satisfies the criteria, as detailed in Appendix 1 of the questionnaire. If more than one organisation satisfies the requirements of the criteria, the service will be subject to a formal competitive tendering exercise.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/070468-2025 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 3 Nov 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 24 Nov 2025 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Sep 2026 - 1 Sep 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £250,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planning |
| Lots status | Planning |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | LEEDS CITY COUNCIL |
| Locality | LEEDS |
| Post town | Leeds |
| Postcode | LS1 1UR |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber |
| ITL 2 | TLE4 West Yorkshire |
| ITL 3 | TLE42 Leeds |
| Local authority | Leeds |
| Electoral ward | Little London & Woodhouse |
| Westminster constituency | Leeds Central and Headingley |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 79952000 - Event services
- 79952100 - Cultural event organisation services

## Release History

- 3 Nov 2025 at 14:00 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/070468-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/070468-2025
  3rd November 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.leeds.gov.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05d903. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05d903.json.