The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has launched preliminary market engagement for a new contract to renew security guarding services at the British Embassy in Berlin.
We understand that this is a routine renewal of the British Embassy in Berlin’s security guarding contract. This does not reflect any change in the security posture at the Embassy in Berlin or any planned alteration to the current arrangements.
A notice published on 5 January sets out plans to appoint a private security company to deliver physical guarding at the embassy from September 2026. The contract is expected to run for an initial three-year period to August 2029, with an option to extend to August 2031, and carries an estimated value of £1.17 million. The requirement covers on-site security guards and falls under the defence and security special procurement regime. The FCDO has indicated that small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly suited to participate, and that the contract value sits above the relevant procurement threshold.
As part of the process, the department will hold an online premarket engagement event on 27 January, allowing potential suppliers to seek clarification and provide early feedback ahead of the formal tender. Companies wishing to attend must register in advance and submit a preliminary engagement questionnaire by 20 January. Suppliers have also been reminded that registration on the government’s Central Digital Platform is mandatory under the Procurement Act 2023, and that bids will be submitted via the FCDO’s Jaggaer procurement portal. The department has encouraged early registration to avoid delays once tender documents are released.
The Berlin notice follows earlier engagement activity related to security guarding services at UK diplomatic premises in Germany, including consulates in Düsseldorf and Munich. All of the notices are linked under the same procurement identifier, suggesting they form part of a coordinated programme rather than isolated procurements.
An earlier pipeline notice published in 2025 envisaged a single contract covering the British Embassy in Berlin alongside the two consulates. The emergence of separate engagement notices for individual locations indicates the FCDO may now be pursuing a more modular approach, potentially allowing different suppliers to bid for specific sites. The FCDO expects to publish a formal tender notice for the Berlin embassy contract in February 2026, following completion of the market engagement phase.
