Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Kent County Council
County Hall
Maidstone
ME141XQ
Contact
Craig Merchant
Telephone
+44 3000414141
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKJ4 - Kent
Justification for not providing organisation identifier
Not on any register
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
SC24029 Highway Term Maintenance Contract 2026
Reference number
SC24029
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 50230000 - Repair, maintenance and associated services related to roads and other equipment
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Following a competitive procedure with negotiation under Regulation 29 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (the "Procurement"), Kent County Council (the "Council") has appointed a service provider (the "Service Provider") to deliver a highways term maintenance contract (the "Contract"). The Council's highway term maintenance services are currently delivered through the Council's existing contract (the "Current HTMC"), which expires on 30 April 2026. The Council has entered into the Contract as of 19 November 2025 to allow sufficient time for implementation and to ensure service continuity from the expiry of the Current HTMC. The initial term of the Contract is 14 years (168 months) (plus a six (6) month mobilisation period during which Task Orders will be issued under the Contract for the initial term). There will be an option to extend the Contract by up to a maximum aggregate of seven (7) years (84 months).
At the Final Tender Stage, the Council identified the most economically advantageous tender using the Price per Quality Point evaluation method. Please also see Section VI for additional information.
This Procurement also includes the potential for the local authorities listed in Section II.2.11 below to have access to in order to deliver specific schemes/projects with the Service Provider.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £2,000,000,000
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 34143000 - Winter-maintenance vehicles
- 34920000 - Road equipment
- 34970000 - Traffic-monitoring equipment
- 34990000 - Control, safety, signalling and light equipment
- 44113910 - Winter-maintenance materials
- 45233139 - Highway maintenance work
- 90640000 - Gully cleaning and emptying services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKJ4 - Kent
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Procurement was undertaken as a competitive procedure with negotiation under Regulation 29 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
Following, three separate rounds of market engagement in January, June, and August 2024 the Procurement launched on 21 October 2024.
The Council encouraged small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the Procurement, either as Candidates, consortium members, supply-chain partners or sub-contractors.
The Selection Questionnaire (the "SQ") Stage of the Procurement closed on 25 November 2024. An Invitation to Submit Initial Tender (the "ISIT") was released in December 2024 to the Candidates shortlisted at the SQ Stage (subsequently referred to as "Tenderers"). Only quality was evaluated during the Initial Tender Stage, and following this stage, the top three (3) ranked Tenderers were issued with an Invitation to Submit Detailed Tender (the "ISDT") and invited to the Detailed Tender Stage.
At the Detailed Tender Stage, quality was evaluated and a detailed review of the Schedules of Rates was undertaken for the purposes of providing feedback to the Tenderers. The Council did not apply the Price Per Quality Point evaluation method at Detailed Tender Stage. All three (3) Tenderers were issued with an Invitation to Submit Final Tender (the "ISFT").
At the Final Tender Stage of the Procurement the Council evaluated the Tenderers' quality responses and used the Schedules of Rates to calculate the Tenderers' Price per Quality Point. The most economically advantageous Tenderer was determined by the Tenderer receiving the lowest Price per Quality Point.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Cost criterion - Name: Price per Quality Point / Weighting: 100
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: Yes
Description of options
The Contract provides for an extension of up to a maximum aggregate of seven (7) years (84 months), depending on both the success in achieving the required outcomes and the availability of further funding. The Contract includes a performance regime that may result in the adjustment of its term.
The scope includes the potential for the following local authorities to have access to in order to deliver specific schemes/projects:
1. Ashford Borough Council
2. Canterbury City Council
3. Dartford Borough Council
4. Dover District Council
5. Folkestone and Hythe District Council
6. Gravesham Borough Council
7. Maidstone Borough Council
8. Medway Council
9. Sevenoaks District Council
10. Swale Borough Council
11. Thanet District Council
12. Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
13. Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
two.2.14) Additional information
The Current HTMC delivers a number of essential and statutory services, including the following:
• Winter Service Provision - e.g. gritting/salting the road network during freezing conditions including ploughing during snow events.
• Drainage Maintenance and Capital Projects - e.g. cyclical highway drainage cleansing, emergency response during storm events and capital drainage repair schemes.
• Structures - e.g. bridge repairs, tunnel maintenance and management and construction of new structures.
• Highway patching and small to medium-scale road asset renewal works - e.g. pothole repairs and larger surface defect repairs of the highway.
• Pavement asset preservation services - e.g. carriageway and footway life extension treatments such as surface dressing.
• Emergency Response - e.g. responding to emergencies across the network due to weather, emergency services support, vehicle collisions, and structural asset failure both in hours and out of hours, 24/7/365.
• Highway Improvement Scheme Delivery - e.g. construction of schemes for crash remedial measures, engineering and traffic schemes and S.106 requirements.
The below is a summary of the scope for the Contract:
• Routine maintenance
• Highways schemes
• Structures and Tunnels maintenance
• High Speed Road maintenance programme
• Emergency and Out of Hours
• Winter service
• Drainage civil schemes
• Drainage cleansing
• Road and footway patching / pothole repairs
• Small/Medium reactive road asset renewal
• Signs maintenance
• Lining maintenance
• Barrier repairs
• Asset improvements
• Pavement asset preservation services
• Professional services ((limited to design for civil engineering works to assist the delivery of projects)
• Major Projects (up to £5m)
Due to the term of the Contract and the nature of the Services, the Council has reserved the right to include additional supporting and/or related services in the Scope during the term of the Contract and in accordance with its terms.
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Competitive procedure with negotiation
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number: 2024/S 000-034009
Section five. Award of contract
Contract No
SC24029
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
19 November 2025
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 3
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Ringway Infrastructure Services Limited
Albion House, Springfield Road,
Horsham
RH12 2RW
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKJ2 - Surrey, East and West Sussex
Companies House
02756434
The contractor is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: £2,000,000,000
Total value of the contract/lot: £2,000,000,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
The estimated total value of this Procurement has been calculated as £2bn. This figure takes into account (i) recent and current annual spend of circa £50-60m; (ii) a maximum total term of 21 years (plus a 6 month mobilisation period); (iii) the potential impact on costs of inflation; and (iv) the ability for the Council, and the potential for the local authorities listed in section II.2.11, to deliver individual projects or schemes through this Contract.
The services under the Contract (as listed at Section II.2.14) are to be provided to the Council, but this Procurement also includes the potential for the local authorities listed in Section II.2.11 to have access to in order to deliver specific schemes/projects.
At the Final Tender Stage, the Council identified the most economically advantageous tender using the Price per Quality Point evaluation method (please see above).
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
Telephone
+44 2079477882
Country
United Kingdom