--- title: "Forest Saunas" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-065f8a" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-065f8a" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065f8a.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065f8a.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "FORESTRY COMMISSION" published: "2026-03-02" --- # Forest Saunas Buyer: FORESTRY COMMISSION Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-065f8a [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-065f8a) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065f8a.json) ## Summary The Forestry Commission, located in Bristol, UK, has initiated a procurement process for the development of innovative forest sauna experiences. This venture, titled "Forest Saunas," is intended to enhance wellbeing and recreation offerings across the nation's forests. The procurement is in the planning stage with expressions of interest due by 31 March 2026. The contract, under the services category with a concession and light-touch regime, envisages a contract period from 1 March 2027 to 28 February 2037, presenting potential opportunities for SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) and VCSEs (Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprises). The project caters primarily to the sporting services sector and aims to incorporate sustainable and nature-immersive spa experiences into multiple forest locations managed by Forestry England. This tender presents a valuable opportunity for businesses specialising in sauna, spa, wellbeing, and outdoor leisure to broaden their market reach. With a gross value of £4,000,000, it offers significant growth potential for partners who can align their projects with Forestry England's focus on nature and public health. The procurement method encourages third-party delivery, allowing operators to take charge of planning, investment, and operation while benefitting from brand association with Forestry England. Ideal candidates should bring innovative ideas and a commitment to environmental and commercial sustainability to expand their operations either nationally, regionally, or locally, catering to the diverse needs of the nation's forests and their visitors. ## Notice Forestry England is exploring an exciting opportunity to work with experienced, likeminded operators to develop high-quality, sustainable, nature-immersive forest spa experiences with sauna facilities across multiple locations within the nation's forests. We are seeking partners who can help us expand our growing wellbeing and recreation offer through innovative, forest-based spa/sauna experiences that complement our landscapes and enhance visitor enjoyment and engagement. Forestry England manages the nation's forests for people, nature and the economy. As England's largest land manager, we care for over 1,500 forests and woods, including 40 key visitor destinations, welcoming around 300 million visits each year. Our forests play a vital role in public wellbeing, offering extensive recreation opportunities including walking, cycling, running, play, and nature experiences. We work with hundreds of commercial partners - from national operators to local businesses - to deliver high quality visitor services that enhance the forest experience while supporting the long-term sustainability of the nation's forests. As we continue to diversify our income, to grow our resilience and respond to the needs of people, nature, and climate, we actively seek partnerships with organisations who can invest in and operate new recreation and wellbeing offers aligned with our values, landscapes, and audiences. Our ambition is to develop an all-year, all-weather, inclusive, and accessible offer that enhances wellbeing experiences and complements our wider recreation portfolio, while continuing to support our long term environmental, social, and commercial objectives. At this early stage, we are seeking to understand which organisations may be interested in this emerging opportunity, and to gain a sense of what the market could offer. We are not requesting detailed proposals or fully developed concepts. Instead, we would like to build an initial picture of: - Who is interested in providing forest-based spa/sauna experiences - What kind of spa, sauna or wellbeing offer you could envisage in a forest setting - At what level you could operate - national, regional, or local - and what your implementation capacity per year would be - How your organisation's experience and values align with ours We are keen to gain a sense of the range of ideas within the market and welcome early thoughts on innovative, distinctive, or creative approaches that could bring something new to a forest-based wellbeing offer. We are particularly interested in hearing from operators with experience in sauna, spa, wellbeing, or outdoor leisure, who feel their approach could complement forest landscapes and support the wellbeing of our visitors by offering fresh, nature connected ideas that enhance the overall experience. Above all, we are looking to engage with operators who share our values: caring for nature, enhancing public wellbeing, operating responsibly, and delivering offers that are both environmentally sensitive and commercially sustainable. Forestry England typically works through full third-party delivery, with operators responsible for planning, investment, design, installation, and operation, while Forestry England provides land access and brand association via a commercial agreement. ### Planning Information Expressions of interest should be submitted via email to commercial.services@forestryengland.uk Following consideration of the initial expressions of interest, Forestry England may wish to engage in further soft market testing with respondents. Therefore, at this stage the scope of the contract is still subject to change based on feedback from the market. This preliminary market engagement notice does not commit Forestry England to any future procurement or any subsequent decisions based on the output of the market sounding exercise. Forestry England reserves the right not to proceed to a formal procurement process. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018424-2026 | | 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 | 2 Mar 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 31 Mar 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Mar 2027 - 28 Feb 2037 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £4,000,000 | | 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 | FORESTRY COMMISSION | | Locality | BRISTOL | | Post town | Bristol | | Postcode | BS16 1EJ | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) | | ITL 2 | TLK5 West of England | | ITL 3 | TLK52 Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire | | Local authority | South Gloucestershire | | Electoral ward | Stoke Park & Cheswick | | Westminster constituency | Filton and Bradley Stoke | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services ### Codes - 92600000 - Sporting services ## Release History - 2 Mar 2026 at 13:02 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018424-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018424-2026 2nd March 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - 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-065f8a. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065f8a.json.