A preliminary market engagement notice is the most commercially valuable notice type on Find a Tender. It appears before a tender exists, before a specification is written, and before an evaluation methodology is set. Responding to one is the closest thing public sector procurement offers to shaping the competition before it begins.

A preliminary market engagement notice is the most commercially valuable notice type on Find a Tender. It appears before a tender exists, before a specification is written, and before an evaluation methodology is set. Responding to one is the closest thing public sector procurement offers to shaping the competition before it begins.

More than 700 were published on Find a Tender in February 2026 alone. Most go unanswered by the suppliers best placed to respond.

More than 700 were published on Find a Tender in February 2026 alone. Most go unanswered by the suppliers best placed to respond.

What is a preliminary market engagement notice?

Under the Procurement Act 2023, contracting authorities that choose to conduct preliminary market engagement must publish a preliminary market engagement notice, known as a UK2 notice, on Find a Tender before publishing a tender notice, or explain in the tender notice why they did not.

Under the Procurement Act 2023, contracting authorities that choose to conduct preliminary market engagement must publish a preliminary market engagement notice, known as a UK2 notice, on Find a Tender before publishing a tender notice, or explain in the tender notice why they did not.

A UK2 notice can be prospective, inviting the market to participate in an engagement before it takes place, or retrospective, notifying the market of an engagement that has already occurred and its outcomes.

A UK2 notice can be prospective, inviting the market to participate in an engagement before it takes place, or retrospective, notifying the market of an engagement that has already occurred and its outcomes.

The prospective version is the commercially significant one. It is a published invitation for suppliers to contribute to shaping a requirement before the specification is finalised. Participating does not give an unfair advantage. Buyers are required to take steps to ensure all participating suppliers can later compete fairly. What it gives is context: understanding of the buyer's problem, the timeline, the likely evaluation criteria, and the specifications being considered. Competitors who do not respond simply do not have that information.

The prospective version is the commercially significant one. It is a published invitation for suppliers to contribute to shaping a requirement before the specification is finalised. Participating does not give an unfair advantage. Buyers are required to take steps to ensure all participating suppliers can later compete fairly. What it gives is context: understanding of the buyer's problem, the timeline, the likely evaluation criteria, and the specifications being considered. Competitors who do not respond simply do not have that information.

How to find preliminary market engagement notices on Find a Tender

UK2 notices appear on Find a Tender alongside all other notice types, but they are not surfaced by a default search that filters to tender notices.

UK2 notices appear on Find a Tender alongside all other notice types, but they are not surfaced by a default search that filters to tender notices.

To find them: go to Find a Tender, select Search, and filter by notice type to include “UK2: Preliminary market engagement notice”. Combine this with a CPV code search for your category and a buyer name search for your target accounts.

To find them: go to Find a Tender, select Search, and filter by notice type to include “UK2: Preliminary market engagement notice”. Combine this with a CPV code search for your category and a buyer name search for your target accounts.

Setting up a saved search that returns UK2 notices in your category, alongside UK1 pipeline notices, ensures you are alerted to market engagement activity as it is published rather than discovering it after the fact. A UK2 notice published in October with a response deadline in November may lead to a tender published in March. A supplier who misses the October notice will be reacting to a specification shaped by competitors' input..

Setting up a saved search that returns UK2 notices in your category, alongside UK1 pipeline notices, ensures you are alerted to market engagement activity as it is published rather than discovering it after the fact. A UK2 notice published in October with a response deadline in November may lead to a tender published in March. A supplier who misses the October notice will be reacting to a specification shaped by competitors' input..

Checking individual buyer websites and procurement portals is also necessary. Some market engagement exercises are conducted through buyer-specific portals rather than generating a Find a Tender notice, particularly for below-threshold procurements and exercises conducted under the Provider Selection Regime for healthcare services.

Checking individual buyer websites and procurement portals is also necessary. Some market engagement exercises are conducted through buyer-specific portals rather than generating a Find a Tender notice, particularly for below-threshold procurements and exercises conducted under the Provider Selection Regime for healthcare services.

What does a UK2 notice typically ask for?

UK2 notices vary considerably in scope and format, but most ask suppliers for some combination of:

UK2 notices vary considerably in scope and format, but most ask suppliers for some combination of:

• Market feasibility input: can the market deliver this requirement? Is the scope realistic? Are there structural problems with the proposed approach?

  Market feasibility input: can the market deliver this requirement? Is the scope realistic? Are there structural problems with the proposed approach?

• Pricing and cost guidance: is the indicative budget realistic? What are the key cost drivers? How would suppliers price this type of work?

  Pricing and cost guidance: is the indicative budget realistic? What are the key cost drivers? How would suppliers price this type of work?

• Technical and specification input: how would suppliers approach delivery? What technical standards or interfaces are relevant? What would a well-specified requirement look like?

  Technical and specification input: how would suppliers approach delivery? What technical standards or interfaces are relevant? What would a well-specified requirement look like?

• Supplier landscape information: how many credible suppliers exist in this market? Are there SMEs or specialist providers the buyer might be inadvertently excluding?

  Supplier landscape information: how many credible suppliers exist in this market? Are there SMEs or specialist providers the buyer might be inadvertently excluding?

Some UK2 exercises involve written questionnaire responses. Others involve supplier days, one-to-one meetings, or a combination. The format is described in the notice itself.

Some UK2 exercises involve written questionnaire responses. Others involve supplier days, one-to-one meetings, or a combination. The format is described in the notice itself.

Not all UK2 notices are scored or evaluated in the competitive sense. A buyer using preliminary market engagement to gather market information may not be assessing which supplier gave the best response. They are aggregating market intelligence. However, suppliers who provide substantive, useful responses are known to the buyer and are often invited to contribute to further engagement stages.

Not all UK2 notices are scored or evaluated in the competitive sense. A buyer using preliminary market engagement to gather market information may not be assessing which supplier gave the best response. They are aggregating market intelligence. However, suppliers who provide substantive, useful responses are known to the buyer and are often invited to contribute to further engagement stages.

How to write a preliminary market engagement response that builds competitive advantage

Answer what is asked, not what you want to say

Answer what is asked, not what you want to say

The buyer is conducting market engagement to answer specific questions. A response that addresses the questions they have asked, with clarity, with evidence, and without promotional content, is more useful than one that uses the exercise as a sales pitch.

The buyer is conducting market engagement to answer specific questions. A response that addresses the questions they have asked, with clarity, with evidence, and without promotional content, is more useful than one that uses the exercise as a sales pitch.

Challenge the specification where it deserves challenge

Challenge the specification where it deserves challenge

If the buyer's draft scope has a structural problem, such as a timeline the market cannot meet, an approach that excludes the most capable suppliers, or a pricing assumption that will attract poor quality responses, saying so with evidence and a suggested alternative is more commercially valuable than validating a flawed approach. Buyers conducting market engagement are specifically trying to identify these problems. A supplier who identifies and addresses one is remembered.

If the buyer's draft scope has a structural problem, such as a timeline the market cannot meet, an approach that excludes the most capable suppliers, or a pricing assumption that will attract poor quality responses, saying so with evidence and a suggested alternative is more commercially valuable than validating a flawed approach. Buyers conducting market engagement are specifically trying to identify these problems. A supplier who identifies and addresses one is remembered.

Provide realistic pricing guidance

Provide realistic pricing guidance

Buyers conducting preliminary market engagement often need to stress-test budget assumptions before writing a business case. A response that provides a realistic indicative cost range, with the assumptions clearly stated, gives the buyer information they need. A response that declines to indicate pricing on the grounds that it is too early serves the buyer less well.

Buyers conducting preliminary market engagement often need to stress-test budget assumptions before writing a business case. A response that provides a realistic indicative cost range, with the assumptions clearly stated, gives the buyer information they need. A response that declines to indicate pricing on the grounds that it is too early serves the buyer less well.

Keep it proportionate

Keep it proportionate

A preliminary market engagement response is not a tender submission. Buyers receive multiple responses and do not have dedicated evaluation resource to read lengthy documents. A response that addresses the key questions clearly and concisely in a small number of pages is more effective than an exhaustive submission covering tangential ground.

A preliminary market engagement response is not a tender submission. Buyers receive multiple responses and do not have dedicated evaluation resource to read lengthy documents. A response that addresses the key questions clearly and concisely in a small number of pages is more effective than an exhaustive submission covering tangential ground.

Be clear about your organisation's position and interest

Be clear about your organisation's position and interest

A buyer who does not know, at the end of reading a response, whether the supplier is interested in bidding for the eventual contract, and at what scale and scope, has received market intelligence but not a commercial signal. Stating clearly that your organisation intends to respond to the formal tender, and what scope you would be responding against, helps the buyer assess market depth.

A buyer who does not know, at the end of reading a response, whether the supplier is interested in bidding for the eventual contract, and at what scale and scope, has received market intelligence but not a commercial signal. Stating clearly that your organisation intends to respond to the formal tender, and what scope you would be responding against, helps the buyer assess market depth.

What happens after a preliminary market engagement exercise

The buyer aggregates the responses and uses them to refine the requirement. In most cases, this means adjusting the specification, the lot structure, or the evaluation criteria before the formal procurement goes live.

The buyer aggregates the responses and uses them to refine the requirement. In most cases, this means adjusting the specification, the lot structure, or the evaluation criteria before the formal procurement goes live.

Where a UK2 notice was prospective, buyers are often required to publish a retrospective UK2 notice describing what they heard from the market and how it has influenced their approach. Reading this retrospective notice tells suppliers what other participants said and how the specification changed as a result. That is commercially useful intelligence for bid preparation.

Where a UK2 notice was prospective, buyers are often required to publish a retrospective UK2 notice describing what they heard from the market and how it has influenced their approach. Reading this retrospective notice tells suppliers what other participants said and how the specification changed as a result. That is commercially useful intelligence for bid preparation.

Participation in preliminary market engagement does not guarantee commercial advantage in the subsequent competitive process, and buyers are required to ensure it does not create one unfairly. What it does is give participating suppliers context about the buyer's thinking, the competitive landscape, and the specification's origins that cold bidders simply do not have.

Participation in preliminary market engagement does not guarantee commercial advantage in the subsequent competitive process, and buyers are required to ensure it does not create one unfairly. What it does is give participating suppliers context about the buyer's thinking, the competitive landscape, and the specification's origins that cold bidders simply do not have.

How preliminary market engagement fits into a broader pre-tender strategy

UK2 notices are the formal end of pre-tender intelligence. The informal signals (board papers, spend data, pipeline notices) appear earlier and without notification. A commercial process that monitors all of these, not just the formal notice types, gives a supplier the longest possible lead time on any given opportunity.

UK2 notices are the formal end of pre-tender intelligence. The informal signals (board papers, spend data, pipeline notices) appear earlier and without notification. A commercial process that monitors all of these, not just the formal notice types, gives a supplier the longest possible lead time on any given opportunity.

For a full guide to building that process, see our article on what is pre-tender intelligence. For the process of responding to the earlier, informal version of market engagement, see our guide on what is soft market testing.

For a full guide to building that process, see our article on what is pre-tender intelligence. For the process of responding to the earlier, informal version of market engagement, see our guide on what is soft market testing.

Knowing a UK2 notice exists is the first step. Knowing it was published by a buyer you have been tracking for six months, in a category where you have spend data and contract expiry intelligence, is when it becomes a commercial opportunity rather than a compliance exercise. Arcamus surfaces that context. See what's in the pipeline for your target accounts.

Knowing a UK2 notice exists is the first step. Knowing it was published by a buyer you have been tracking for six months, in a category where you have spend data and contract expiry intelligence, is when it becomes a commercial opportunity rather than a compliance exercise. Arcamus surfaces that context. See what's in the pipeline for your target accounts.