--- title: "**Pre-Market Engagement** Supply and Delivery of Sports and Fitness Equipment and the Maintenance of Gymnasium and Fitness Equipment" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-067c76" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-067c76" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-067c76.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-067c76.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "THE EDUCATION AUTHORITY" published: "2026-04-03" --- # **Pre-Market Engagement** Supply and Delivery of Sports and Fitness Equipment and the Maintenance of Gymnasium and Fitness Equipment Buyer: THE EDUCATION AUTHORITY Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-067c76 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-067c76) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-067c76.json) ## Summary The Education Authority Northern Ireland (EANI) is conducting a pre-market engagement for the forthcoming tender regarding the supply, delivery, and maintenance of sports and fitness equipment, projected to start in October 2026. The procurement is in the planning stage, focused on gathering supplier insights into creating a framework agreement. It targets the sports goods and equipment industry and involves the maintenance services for gymnasium equipment within the UK region. EANI, a public authority operating under Northern Irish devolved regulations, is soliciting feedback through a questionnaire accessible via eTendersNI, with a submission deadline of 3pm on 28 April 2026. This engagement opens opportunities for businesses specialising in sports equipment and its associated maintenance, offering a chance to influence the framework's design to better suit market demands. SMEs should find this particularly advantageous as the project is suited for their participation. With an estimated contract value of £14.4 million, enterprises can anticipate significant business growth. Participating in the early stages of the procurement process allows businesses to align their capabilities with EANI’s requirements, ensuring readiness for the potential tender post-market engagement. Adapting to insights gathered during this stage can provide a competitive edge without giving any undue advantage in the formal tendering process. ## Notice **Please note, this is not a Tender exercise** The Education Authority Northern Ireland (EANI), in preparation for a procurement process, wish to engage with the market to seek supplier views and feedback on potential approaches for a Framework for the Supply and Delivery of Sports and Fitness Equipment, and the Maintenance of Gymnasium and Fitness Equipment. Market Feedback will be provided via the completion of a questionnaire, to be submitted via eTendersNI. There are no documents to be completed or provided other than the questionnaire. Any information gathered through this market consultation exercise will inform internal business planning and any possible subsequent procurement process and will NOT be appraised in any future tender evaluation exercise. Please note that participation or nonparticipation in this preliminary market consultation exercise shall not prevent any supplier from participating in any potential procurement process, nor is it intended that any information supplied shall place any supplier at an advantage or disadvantage in any forthcoming procurement process. For the avoidance of doubt, this is the scoping phase of the project and is not part of a formal procurement process. ### Planning Information The Education Authority Northern Ireland (EANI), in preparation for a procurement process, wish to engage with the market to seek supplier views and feedback on potential approaches for a Framework for the Supply and Delivery of Sports and Fitness Equipment, and the Maintenance of Gymnasium and Fitness Equipment. Market Feedback will be provided via the completion of a questionnaire, to be submitted via eTendersNI. Suppliers who wish to participate in the pre market engagement exercise should complete the pre market engagement questionnaire on eTendersNI, accessible under the CfT CA Unique ID EANI-5203 Furthern information including the questionnaire can be downloaded from the CfT on eTendersNI. Suppliers also have the opportunity to submit queries regarding the engagement via the eTendersNI messaging function. The Questionnaire must be completed and submitted via the messaging function on eTendersNI no later than 3pm on Tuesday 28 April 2026. There are no documents required at this point other than the completed questionnaire. Any information gathered through this market consultation exercise will inform internal business planning and any possible subsequent procurement process and will NOT be appraised in any future tender evaluation exercise. Please note that participation or nonparticipation in this preliminary market consultation exercise shall not prevent any supplier from participating in any potential procurement process, nor is it intended that any information supplied shall place any supplier at an advantage or disadvantage in any forthcoming procurement process. For the avoidance of doubt, this is the scoping phase of the project and is not part of a formal procurement process. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031207-2026 | | Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Framework | | Procurement category | Goods | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | SME | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 3 Apr 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 15 May 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 6 Oct 2026 - 6 Oct 2030 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £12,000,000 | | 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 | THE EDUCATION AUTHORITY | | Locality | BELFAST | | Post town | Northern Ireland | | Postcode | BT1 2NQ | | Country | Northern Ireland | | ITL 1 | TLN Northern Ireland | | ITL 2 | TLN0 Northern Ireland | | ITL 3 | TLN06 Belfast | | Local authority | Belfast | | Electoral ward | Duncairn | | Westminster constituency | Belfast North | | Delivery location | TLN Northern Ireland | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 37 - Musical instruments, sport goods, games, toys, handicraft, art materials and accessories - 50 - Repair and maintenance services - 51 - Installation services (except software) ### Codes - 37400000 - Sports goods and equipment - 50870000 - Repair and maintenance services of playground equipment - 51121000 - Installation services of fitness equipment ## Release History - 3 Apr 2026 at 15:06 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031207-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031207-2026 3rd April 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-067c76. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-067c76.json.