Coming up: contracts ending soon

Most public contracts are tendered again when they end. Coming up (/coming-up) shows contracts that end in the coming months, with the incumbent, the last price and when the buyer is likely to publish the new tender. That gives you time to talk to the buyer before the tender is written.

Why look at expiring contracts?#

By the time a contract notice is published, the specifications are fixed and the clock is running, often a month or so. If you know a cleaning contract or an IT service desk contract ends next autumn, you can:

• prepare references and certificates in time;

• find partners for a consortium;

• follow the buyer's market consultations and prior information notices;

• decide early whether it's worth chasing.

What a contract card shows#

Incumbent

the supplier holding the contract now ("not known" when the award didn't say).

Last contract value

the awarded value.

Contract end

the expected end month.

Expected re-tender

the window when the new tender is likely, with a confidence level.

Based on

the notices behind the estimate (award notice, original contract notice).

Cards may also show Framework agreement or Renewals possible. Renewal options can push the real end date later than the first term.

How the end date is found#

Hover or tap the confidence level to see the method. The end date is either:

• stated in the award notice;

• the contract start plus its duration;

• the signing date plus the contract duration;

• the duration from the contract notice;

• or the buyer's earlier purchase cycle.

Confidence levels#

• High confidence: the new tender is expected within about ±6 months of the window's centre.

• Medium confidence: ±9 months.

• Low confidence: ±12 months.

Status: was the re-tender published?#

Nutcracker keeps matching new notices against each forecast:

• Re-tender published: the new tender is out. Click Open the new tender →.

• The re-tender is overdue: the window has passed and nothing matching is published yet.

• The contract has ended without a matching new tender: it may have been extended, merged or bought another way.

Finding contracts#

1. 1

   Open Coming up in the header (/coming-up).

2. 2

   Filter by keyword (e.g. "cleaning" or "software"), countries, sectors, minimum Value, confidence and the Re-tender window (From / To month).

3. 3

   Sort by Contract end or Value.

4. 4

   Open a contract to see its evidence, or use Copy link to send it to a colleague.

Buyer and supplier profile pages also list their expiring contracts, and award notice pages show Expected re-tender when there's a forecast.

Watching a search#

With Pro you can click Watch this search to get a weekly e-mail with the contracts that match your filters and whose re-tender window is opening. Your watches are listed under Your watches, where you can stop watching.

Tracking a contract in the pipeline#

Use Add to pipeline on a contract card to follow it with your team. When the re-tender is published, the pipeline item gets an event, so you won't miss it.

What free accounts see#

Signed out

a preview with sample cards; sign in to see contracts.

Free account

each month, the first 3 contracts in your sectors in full. Others show "Buyer name hidden" and "Supplier hidden".

Pro and Business

every contract with buyer, incumbent and value, plus weekly watch e-mails.

"Your sectors" come from your saved searches and your For you profile, so set those up first for a more useful free view.

Frameworks often end on a fixed date with a new competition behind them. Read more in our framework guide.