Description
Bassetlaw District Council (the Council) wishes to invite tenders to appoint a suitably experienced operator to occupy and operate an indoor street food market within the Retford Town Hall's Buttermarket. The operator will be responsible for all aspects of delivery, vendor management and commercial performance, in return for the right to trade from the premises and an opportunity to influence the final design and fit-out of the space.
The Council's objectives in appointing an operator are to:
• Animate and activate Retford town centre
• Support independent and start-up food businesses
• Provide a high-quality, diverse and affordable food offer
• Increase footfall and dwell time
• Support the evening and weekend economy
• Deliver social and economic value for the local area
The Buttermarket is anticipated to be available to the operator for commercial operation from Winter 2026/Spring 2027 subject to detailed design agreement and construction programme. The Council envisions the successful provider from this tender to join as a partner through this design process. This interim period for design and Council construction will ensure the final installation is fit for purpose and encourages optimal commercial operation for the appointed end user.
Located on the Market Square, Retford Town Hall is well positioned to amplify the offerings of the town, however, the site is currently greatly underutilised, and its facilities require significant modernisation. The Buttermarket is the ground floor premise of the wider Retford Town Hall with its own level and independent access along the Town Hall Yard and direct access to the Market Square. There is ample area (~260m2) to enhance this space to provide a series of catering focused opportunities while also creating an inclusive communal space, designed to host events that appeal across all age groups.
According to a recent market summary of Retford undertaken by CACI, the town boasts a sizable catchment area with a total market potential of £122.1 million. Additionally, Retford enjoys a high catchment market share of 16%, indicating a strong local spend for retailers and food businesses opening in the town centre. The total market potential for catering alone is £30.1 million.
The overall spend remains below the regional average, indicating a need for Retford to build up a critical mass of retail and leisure offer to increase its attractiveness. Annual household spent on catering is £2,060 which is 5% lower than the East Midlands average and spend on alcohol on premises is 10% below the regional average demonstrating there is available spend for these types of offers not currently being realised in Retford.
Mandatory Site Visit
Attendance at a mandatory supervised site visit is a condition of participation in this procurement process.
The site visit will take place at:
Buttermarket, Retford Town Hall, Retford, Nottinghamshire, DN22 6DE
Site visits will be conducted during the week commencing 18 May 2026.
Bidders must register in advance to attend the site visit. Instructions for registering and arranging attendance are set out in Section 7.2 of Document 1. Only bidders who have successfully registered and attended a site visit in accordance with these instructions will be eligible to submit a tender.
Please note: The Council reserves the right to eliminate bids from the procurement process (without evaluation), that are received from any potential supplier that has not attended a site visit.
Further information about the service requirements can be obtained in the tender documentation within this tender pack.
Contract value
The Council is seeking £20,000 excluding VAT per annum for rent of the Buttermarket, however there are alternative financial models that will be accepted by the Council for interested bidders.
Term
The Council would optimally seek a 5-year lease with the opportunity to extend a further 5 years.
Procurement Procedure
Open procedure in accordance with Procurement Act 2023 (Concession - below threshold).
Additional Information
This procurement process is being managed by Welland Procurement in partnership with the Council. Further information on Welland Procurement can be found at: http://wellandprocurement.org.uk/.
Suppliers are welcome to view the opportunity and access the tender documents on the East Mids Tenders portal using the link below:
https://www.eastmidstenders.org/
Select "view opportunities" then choose Welland Procurement from the organisations drop down menu. Project ID: DN801439.