IN Brief:
- SCAPE's two lots carry estimated values of £500m and £8bn, with up to three delivery partners appointed to each.
- The framework targets defence estates and critical national infrastructure requiring enhanced security, specialist supply chains, and operational resilience.
- Procurement is expected to continue through 2027 before mobilisation of the appointed delivery partners.
SCAPE has begun procurement for a new £8.5bn Defence and Complex Environments Framework designed for highly secure construction projects across the UK. The framework will cover defence estates and other critical national infrastructure where delivery requires enhanced security, specialist expertise, operational resilience, and controlled supply chains.
The public-sector procurement specialist has issued a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice, beginning a process expected to appoint up to six delivery partners. Two lots divide the opportunity by project scale, separating contractors targeting smaller secure schemes from those equipped to manage major programmes.
Lot 1 carries an estimated value of £500m and covers projects valued up to £15m, with as many as three delivery partners to be appointed. Lot 2 is substantially larger, carrying an estimated value of £8bn for projects above £15m and providing another three places.
Both lots are intended for construction requiring high levels of security clearance, enhanced personnel vetting, and robust digital security arrangements. The framework will operate across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, providing public-sector clients with a dedicated procurement route for defence and other sensitive operational environments.
The structure follows market engagement undertaken while SCAPE was developing its forthcoming National Construction Work and Services Framework. Feedback from clients and contractors identified demand for a standalone route dealing specifically with the security, commercial, and operational requirements found on defence estates and critical national infrastructure.
The resulting framework is planned to run for four years, with an option to extend for a further year, and will operate under the Procurement Act 2023. SCAPE also intends to support the arrangement with contract templates and commercial models tailored to work carried out in secure and operationally complex settings.
Craig Murphy, director of frameworks at SCAPE, has described the defence estate as entering “a period of significant investment”. The scale of the procurement gives the upper lot enough capacity for major capital programmes rather than restricting the framework to maintenance, refurbishment, or smaller enabling packages.
The new procurement sits alongside SCAPE’s separate £1.2bn regional construction framework, which opened for tender in July. That programme concentrates on projects worth up to £15m across regional lots, while the defence framework addresses national projects with more demanding security and operational requirements.
Secure construction places additional demands on contractor systems long before site mobilisation. Personnel vetting, information handling, subcontractor selection, site access, digital security, and logistics can all form part of bid preparation, alongside conventional assessments of price, programme, quality, and technical capability.
Projects on operational defence or critical infrastructure estates may also have to proceed around activities that cannot simply be shut down for construction. Restrictions on access, working hours, logistics routes, temporary works, and information sharing can shape sequencing and cost, while specialist subcontractors may require additional clearances before they can enter the site.
The two-lot model creates a defined split between businesses able to deliver lower-value secure work and contractors with the financial and organisational scale required for major national programmes. For specialist suppliers, the eventual appointment of six delivery partners will also influence which Tier 1 supply chains become the principal routes into the programme.
Capacity below Tier 1 will be an important part of that process. Secure projects can require vetted designers, installers, logistics providers, technology suppliers, commissioning specialists, and maintenance contractors, making supply chain depth a practical delivery constraint rather than simply a procurement consideration.
SCAPE’s timetable leaves a lengthy period between initial market engagement and framework mobilisation, giving bidders time to assemble compliant teams and establish security arrangements. The £8.5bn figure represents procurement capacity rather than guaranteed construction turnover, with actual workload determined by the number, value, and timing of projects called off after the framework becomes operational.
