Scope
Reference
Heathrow IRC Operator Services / project_18030
Description
The Authority is responsible, under statutory obligations including the Immigration Act 1971, the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 and the Immigration Act 2014, for detaining and/or enforcing the removal of certain persons.
Heathrow Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) is Europe's largest immigration detention facility providing a contracted capacity of 1,093 beds, and is made up of two sites, Harmondsworth (754 beds) and Colnbrook (339 beds). Heathrow IRC accepts around 12,000 detained individuals every year and provides crucial strategic and operational benefits to the Home Office.
The Authority is seeking a commercial partner to operate the Heathrow Immigration Removal Centre, with the required services including but not limited to:
a) security services;
b) canteen and catering services;
c) special-purpose road passenger-transport services;
d) guard services;
e) building and facilities management services;
f) grounds maintenance services;
g) education and training services;
h) accommodation cleaning services;
i) recreational, cultural and sporting services;
j) religious services;
k) accommodation services;
l) housekeeping services; and
m) administration, defence and social security services.
The potential length of contract will be 10 years from service commencement, with a core term of 6 years and options to extend for up to a further 4 years. This contract covers the operation of the site at the stated capacity of 1,093, with a total estimated contract value of £901.5m excluding VAT for the full 10 years.
The content of this PPN, including the nature of services and estimated value, may be
subject to change.
How to apply:
The Home Office eSourcing is used for sourcing activities. Please follow the steps below to register your interest:
1. To express an interest, participants must first be registered on the Home Office eSourcing Suite. If you have not yet registered, this can be done online at https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html by following the Register Here Link . Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering and who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so.
2. Email: HeathrowIRCreprocurementproject@homeoffice.gov.uk
Title of email: Heathrow IRC Procurement - Expression of Interest
Email to include: Organisation name, Contact name, E-mail address and telephone number.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Home Office is inviting Expressions of Interest exclusively from organisations intending to act as the prime Supplier for the operation of the Heathrow Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) and the full complement of associated services. While the appointed prime Supplier may engage subcontractors across elements of the service delivery, submissions will only be considered from entities assuming full responsibility as the prime Supplier.
Once the above steps are completed, documents will be made available via the portal, subject to parties signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
Total value (estimated)
- £901,500,000 excluding VAT
- £1,081,800,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 April 2028 to 31 March 2034
- Possible extension to 31 March 2038
- 10 years
Description of possible extension:
Contract length of an initial 6 years with the option to extend 1 or more times for a total maximum extension period of up to 4-years
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 79710000 - Security services
- 55500000 - Canteen and catering services
- 60130000 - Special-purpose road passenger-transport services
- 77314000 - Grounds maintenance services
- 79713000 - Guard services
- 79993000 - Building and facilities management services
- 80000000 - Education and training services
- 90911100 - Accommodation cleaning services
- 92000000 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services
- 98131000 - Religious services
- 98341000 - Accommodation services
- 98341110 - Housekeeping services
Contract locations
- UK - United Kingdom
Submission
Publication date of tender notice (estimated)
2 March 2026
Submission type
Requests to participate
Deadline for requests to participate
3 March 2026, 10:00am
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
1 December 2027
Procedure
Procedure type
Competitive flexible procedure
Contracting authority
Home Office
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PWGC-6513-PQLZ
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
United Kingdom
Contact name: IRC Procurement Team
Email: HeathrowIRCreprocurementproject@homeoffice.gov.uk
Website: http://www.gov.uk/home-office
Region: UKI32 - Westminster
Organisation type: Public authority - central government