--- title: "White Horse Reservoir (WHR) Independent Technical Advisor (ITA)" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-07755f" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07755f" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07755f.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07755f.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED" published: "2026-09-18" --- # White Horse Reservoir (WHR) Independent Technical Advisor (ITA) Buyer: THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-07755f [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07755f) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07755f.json) ## Summary Thames Water Utilities Limited is planning to appoint an Independent Technical Advisor for the White Horse Reservoir project. The service is intended to provide independent technical, commercial, programme, risk and regulatory assurance supporting the project’s governance and delivery. It is expected to cover both the Early Contractor Involvement stage and the later Delivery stage. The requirement combines engineering advice, construction project management, technical analysis and consultancy, project management consultancy, and general management consultancy. The work will support a major UK water-utility infrastructure project and is intended to help assure delivery arrangements, programme decisions, risks, regulatory matters and commercial considerations. This is a services requirement for organisations able to provide independent, multi-disciplinary technical and programme assurance to a utility-sector capital project. The process is at the planning stage and the buyer is conducting Preliminary Market Engagement, not inviting tenders. Feedback will help shape the final service requirement, procurement strategy, commercial approach, market assessment and procurement documents. Thames Water expects to use this engagement to test the proposed scope, delivery considerations, and available supplier capability. Interested organisations must first complete a Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement: the stated submission time is 12:00 noon on 25 September 2026. The engagement milestone is scheduled to run to 10 October 2026. The planned contract period is 1 August 2027 to 1 March 2050. The estimated value is £40,000,000 excluding VAT, or £48,000,000 including VAT. There is one planned lot, marked as suitable for SMEs. This engagement should suit engineering consultancies, technical advisers, project management consultancies and assurance specialists with experience supporting major infrastructure delivery. Relevant capability is likely to include independent technical review, commercial assurance, programme controls, risk management, regulatory assurance and construction project management. Suppliers with experience of water, reservoirs, utilities or other complex capital projects may be well placed to contribute useful market feedback and prepare for a later procurement. The requirement spans both Early Contractor Involvement and Delivery, so businesses should consider how they would provide continuity of advice across project stages, maintain independence from delivery contractors and support governance decisions. Organisations intending to participate should be ready to handle commercially sensitive material under a Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement and provide informed feedback on scope, procurement strategy and market capacity. ## Notice Thames Water Utilities Limited is undertaking Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) in relation to the proposed procurement of an Independent Technical Advisor (ITA) for the White Horse Reservoir (WHR) project. The purpose of this market engagement is to obtain feedback from the market to help inform the development of the requirement, including the proposed scope of services, commercial approach, procurement strategy, market capacity and capability, and key delivery considerations. The ITA is anticipated to provide independent technical, commercial, programme, risk and regulatory assurance services in support of the project's governance and delivery arrangements. The services are expected to cover both the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) stage and the subsequent Delivery stage of the project. Feedback received through this engagement will be used to help shape the final procurement approach and supporting documentation for the proposed ITA appointment.For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Reading:-Advisory-and-consultative-engineering-services./47W66BK2KD To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/47W66BK2KD ### Planning Information Access to Market Engagement Documentation Due to the commercially sensitive nature of the information to be shared, interested organisations will be required to enter into a Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before participating in this market engagement exercise. Suppliers wishing to participate should register their interest via Delta eSourcing and access the Tenderbox using the following code: Tenderbox Access Code: 47W66BK2KD Within the Tenderbox, suppliers will be able to download the NDA and associated instructions. A fully executed NDA must be submitted via the Tenderbox no later than 12:00 noon on 25 September 2026. Only organisations that have submitted a fully executed NDA by the stated deadline will be provided with access to the detailed Market Briefing Pack and Market Sounding Questionnaire. A countersigned copy of the NDA will be issued alongside the Market Briefing Pack and Market Sounding Questionnaire. Participating organisations will be invited to review the information provided and submit feedback as part of this Preliminary Market Engagement exercise. Feedback received will be used to inform the development of the requirement, procurement strategy, commercial approach and procurement documentation. Participation in this market engagement exercise will not influence any future procurement process and does not constitute any commitment by Thames Water to commence a procurement or award a contract. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Reading:-Advisory-and-consultative-engineering services./47W66BK2KD To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/47W66BK2KD ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088653-2026 | | 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 | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 18 Sep 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Aug 2027 - 1 Mar 2050 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £40,000,000 | | 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 | THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED | | Locality | READING | | Postcode area | Reading | | Postcode | RG1 8DB | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | | ITL 3 | TLJ16 Berkshire West | | Local authority | Reading | | Electoral ward | Thames | | Westminster constituency | Reading Central | | Delivery location | TLI London, TLJ South East (England) | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services - 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support - 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security ### Codes - 71318000 - Advisory and consultative engineering services - 71541000 - Construction project management services - 71621000 - Technical analysis or consultancy services - 72224000 - Project management consultancy services - 79411000 - General management consultancy services ## Release History - 18 Sep 2026 at 12:30 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088653-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088653-2026 18th September 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/47W66BK2KD - https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Reading:-Advisory-and-consultative-engineering - https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Reading:-Advisory-and-consultative-engineering-services./47W66BK2KD - 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-07755f. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07755f.json.