---
title: "BaDC-1727 Retford Buttermarket Food Hall Operator Opportunity"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-07897c"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07897c"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07897c.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07897c.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "Bassetlaw District Council"
published: "2026-10-22"
---

# BaDC-1727 Retford Buttermarket Food Hall Operator Opportunity

Buyer: Bassetlaw District Council  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-07897c

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## Summary

Bassetlaw District Council is seeking an experienced operator to run an indoor street-food market in the Buttermarket, on the ground floor of Retford Town Hall. The operator will manage delivery, vendors and commercial performance, and can help shape the final design and fit-out in partnership with the Council. The approximately 260 m² space has independent access from Town Hall Yard and direct access to Retford Market Square. The intended offer combines catering opportunities with an inclusive communal area for events appealing to all age groups. The Council aims to support independent and start-up food businesses, broaden affordable food choices, bring more activity and visitors to Retford town centre, strengthen evening and weekend trade, and generate local social and economic value.

The Council invited tenders through a competitive flexible procedure. Initial bids are assessed on quality (80%) and price (20%); up to three bidders proceed to a presentation, which contributes 10% of the final score, with the earlier price and quality scores contributing the other 90%. The enquiry deadline was 20 November 2026 at 17:00 and the tender submission deadline was 27 November 2026 at 12:00 UTC. The stated contract period runs from 4 January 2027 to 3 January 2032, with a possible extension to 2 January 2037. The Council seeks a five-year lease with a break at year three and an extension opportunity at year five; any extension depends on satisfactory performance and is at the Council’s discretion. The stated total opportunity value is £18 million excluding VAT (£21.6 million including VAT).

This suits food-hall, street-food or hospitality operators able to take responsibility for a multi-vendor venue, oversee vendor relationships and deliver its commercial performance. The Council is looking for an operator with relevant experience, as well as the capacity to work with it on design and fit-out before trading begins. The proposition offers scope to shape a substantial, centrally located food and events space and to build a varied offer that supports independent and start-up food businesses. It may suit small and medium-sized businesses and voluntary, community or social enterprises. Bidders were required to attend a site visit, so suppliers should be prepared to assess the premises in person and plan an operation that can serve visitors across daytime, evening and weekend periods.

## Notice

Bassetlaw District Council (the Council) wishes to invite tenders to appoint a suitably experienced operator to occupy and operate an indoor street food market within the Retford Town Hall's Buttermarket. The operator will be responsible for all aspects of delivery, vendor management and commercial performance, in return for the right to trade from the premises and an opportunity to influence the final design and fit-out of the space. The Council's objectives in appointing an operator are to: * Animate and activate Retford town centre * Support independent and start-up food businesses * Provide a high-quality, diverse and affordable food offer * Increase footfall and dwell time * Support the evening and weekend economy * Deliver social and economic value for the local area The Buttermarket is anticipated to be available to the operator for commercial operation from Winter 2026/Spring 2027 subject to detailed design agreement and construction programme. The Council envisions the successful provider from this tender to join as a partner through this design process. This interim period for design and Council construction will ensure the final installation is fit for purpose and encourages optimal commercial operation for the appointed end user. Location Located on the Market Square, Retford Town Hall is well positioned to amplify the offerings of the town, however, the site is currently greatly underutilised, and its facilities require significant modernisation. The Buttermarket is the ground floor premise of the wider Retford Town Hall with its own level and independent access along the Town Hall Yard and direct access to the Market Square. There is ample area (~260m2) to enhance this space to provide a series of catering focused opportunities while also creating an inclusive communal space, designed to host events that appeal across all age groups. According to a recent market summary of Retford undertaken by CACI, the town boasts a sizable catchment area with a total market potential of PS122.1 million. Additionally, Retford enjoys a high catchment market share of 16%, indicating a strong local spend for retailers and food businesses opening in the town centre. The total market potential for catering alone is PS30.1 million. The overall spend remains below the regional average, indicating a need for Retford to build up a critical mass of retail and leisure offer to increase its attractiveness. Annual household spent on catering is PS2,060 which is 5% lower than the East Midlands average and spend on alcohol on premises is 10% below the regional average demonstrating there is available spend for these types of offers not currently being realised in Retford Full details of the opportunity and the Council's requirements are set out in the tender documents. Term The Council would optimally seek a 5-year lease with a break clause at Year 3 and the opportunity to extend a further 5 years at year 5 (3+2+5 year agreement). Procurement Procedure This is a competitive flexible procedure. Initial tenders will be scored based on price quality as out lined in document 1. Up to the top 3 bidders will then be invited to a presentation stage which will be scored out of 100 (the scoring for which is in appendix 5). The final tender score will be calculated based on the weightings of the price and quality score from the previous round making up 90% of score and the presentation will form the remaining 10%.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Any proposed extension is subject to satisfactory performance by the supplier and in accordance with the Council's business requirements. Please note: that extension options are not in any way guaranteed and at the sole discretion of the Council.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/099787-2026 |
| Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 22 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 27 Nov 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 4 Jan 2027 - 3 Jan 2032 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £18,000,000 |
| Lots value | £18,000,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Bassetlaw District Council |
| Locality | WORKSOP |
| Postcode area | Sheffield |
| Postcode | S80 2AH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLF East Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLF1 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire |
| ITL 3 | TLF15 North Nottinghamshire |
| Local authority | Bassetlaw |
| Electoral ward | Worksop South |
| Westminster constituency | Bassetlaw |
| Delivery location | TLF15 North Nottinghamshire |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 79993000 - Building and facilities management services

## Release History

- 22 Oct 2026 at 09:49 - TenderUpdate - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/099787-2026
- 20 Oct 2026 at 15:38 - TenderUpdate - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/099133-2026
- 16 Oct 2026 at 12:48 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/097925-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/099787-2026
  22nd October 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/099133-2026
  20th October 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/097925-2026
  16th October 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=730cc808-53c9-f111-813e-005056b64545&p=527b4bbd-5c58-e511-80ef-000c29c9ba21
  Suppliers are welcome to view the opportunity on the EastMids Tenders portal using the link below: https://www.eastmidstenders.org/
- https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=730cc808-53c9-f111-813e-005056b64545

## Notice URLs

- https://www.eastmidstenders.org/
- 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-07897c. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07897c.json.