UK Highways Advice | LGR, Capture Plans, and PA23 | 40 Years in Sector
That gap, between reliable delivery and solid growth, is where Ariaconsult operates.
Insight and new skills to compete effectively
sharper development, smarter bids, and honest challenge
Describes what we do at Ariaconsult, and working with us to improve in these crucial competitive areas in local authority highway maintenance is what actually moves the needle.
Better business development
Good business development isn't something that starts when a tender lands; it's the early engagement, account management, and pipeline discipline that shape whether you're even in a strong position before the ITT is published.
Smarter work-winning
Work-winning is a different skill again: understanding how evaluation panels actually score, where the marks really sit, and how to invest effort accordingly is something few advisors have seen from the inside, and it shows in the bids that win.
A critical friend who tells you the truth
A critical friend is someone invested in your success who's willing to say the uncomfortable thing before a client or an evaluator does.
understanding the gap
There is a gap between what highway contractors include in their bids and what evaluation panels score.
Most bid advisors have never sat in an evaluation panel room, so they cannot offer the insight that will help you and your team gain higher evaluation marks.
I've sat on both sides of the table, designing evaluation panels for contracting authorities and helping contractors understand exactly how those panels think. There is a gap between what highway contractors include in their bids and what evaluation panels score. I know exactly what causes that gap because I have sat on both sides of the table. I have worked in the UK highways sector for 40 years. I run Ariaconsult, collaborating with highway contractors, specialised contractors, and contracting authorities throughout the entire process, from capture planning and early market engagement to bid strategy and procurement design.
LGR, Capture Planning and Procurement Act 2023
LGR is reshaping the sector, but doesn't affect you, or does it?
Does your client want more of the same or something completely different?
Does your client want more of the same or something completely different?
21 county areas are moving into new unitary authorities, with vesting days running through 2027 and 2028. Hundreds of highway contracts are in transition, with billions in DfT capital at stake. Inherited contracts aren't automatically fit for purpose — boundaries shift, performance regimes clash, asset management plans fall out of DfT compliance.
Does your client want more of the same or something completely different?
Does your client want more of the same or something completely different?
Does your client want more of the same or something completely different?
I recently reviewed a capture plan for an incumbent contractor who lost a price renewal despite strong delivery marks — the evaluation model wasn't pressure-tested early enough. That's the recurring pattern: capture planning begins too late, pricing isn't tested against the market, and the evaluation model gets accepted rather than shaped.
Are you working by the old rules and being left behind?
Does your client want more of the same or something completely different?
Are you working by the old rules and being left behind?
The Procurement Act 2023 didn't just tweak the old rules; it replaced them with two evaluation methods that most highway contractors and authorities are still getting to grips with. The Most Advantageous Tender (MAT) approach opens the door to weighing quality and price, while Price Per Quality Point (PPQP) makes that weighting explicit
The Procurement Act 2023 didn't just tweak the old rules; it replaced them with two evaluation methods that most highway contractors and authorities are still getting to grips with. The Most Advantageous Tender (MAT) approach opens the door to weighing quality and price, while Price Per Quality Point (PPQP) makes that weighting explicit and mathematical. Getting either wrong can cost a contract or leave an authority's procurement open to challenge.
The Bourne Identity
Business development
We help show leaders that Business development is not sales! Sales and business development are very different. Business development seeks ways to change, improve, and add value for you and your customers.
Business development creates sustainable long-term value using your ideas, initiatives, and improvement activities to deliver value and
We help show leaders that Business development is not sales! Sales and business development are very different. Business development seeks ways to change, improve, and add value for you and your customers.
Business development creates sustainable long-term value using your ideas, initiatives, and improvement activities to deliver value and outcomes that solve issues and problems for people.
Our Work-Winning know-how will show you how to align focused value propositions to focus on engagement and relationships with prospects over a longer-term pipeline.
We help you build a simple, influential account management culture and behaviours that create game-changing relationships with current and future customers.
As your trusted critical friend, I will help you unleash the best sales team you will ever have: your satisfied existing customers. Happy clients will recommend you, support you, and collaborate to help you drive sustainable growth with new customers if it creates value for them simultaneously.
work-Winning
After business development, work winning is the second facet of The Bourne Identity, founded on my in-depth insight into how to build a value proposition that will prove a competitive advantage in your bids and proposals.
We offer an end-to-end work-winning solution in the highway maintenance sector. Research to help improve your understa
After business development, work winning is the second facet of The Bourne Identity, founded on my in-depth insight into how to build a value proposition that will prove a competitive advantage in your bids and proposals.
We offer an end-to-end work-winning solution in the highway maintenance sector. Research to help improve your understanding of what the target client wants to buy. We design and lead engaging and interactive value proposition workshops that show you how to map your ideas and solutions to meet client needs and problems.
My critical friend's hands-on experience with quality submissions, technical answer plans, and knowledge of several operating models for highway maintenance services create a one-stop solution.
Why pay for writers, editors and operational specialists when we can deliver everything you need?
Critical Friend
Critical Friend
After business development and work winning, being a critical friend is our third pillar of support. We offer objective feedback, challenge assumptions, and encourage people and teams to think differently.
Our clients trust us to understand and question their perspectives. They rely on us to offer critiques, ideas, options, and choices
After business development and work winning, being a critical friend is our third pillar of support. We offer objective feedback, challenge assumptions, and encourage people and teams to think differently.
Our clients trust us to understand and question their perspectives. They rely on us to offer critiques, ideas, options, and choices for improvement, knowing that our feedback is always in their best interest.
We ask provocative questions to discover what makes you unique and valuable in a competitive market to give you that vital edge over your competitors.
Critical Friend relies upon our current highway maintenance market knowledge and candid feedback to promote an in-the-know skill for you and your team.
offering you passion, energy, and skill
Get ahead of your competition
Why Work With Me?
After running my consultancy, The Bourne Identity, for over five years, I offer hands-on, personalised support to contractors, consultants, and clients. My impartial advice is rooted in thorough research, industry experience, and actionable feedback that drives positive change.
My extensive professional network connects you with influential decision-makers in the local authority sector, helping you build trust and relationships with key clients before formal procurement processes begin.
Flexible, Cost-Effective Consultancy
I provide top-tier consultancy services without the overhead costs of larger firms. My flexible partnership model ensures you receive tailored guidance that showcases your business’s strengths and growth aspirations while delivering measurable results.
- UK highways sector expertise
- Local Authority Procurement Insights
- Business development and work-winning
- Strategic partnerships and collaborations
- Client-centric value proposition
- Market intelligence and research
- Impartial, hands-on consultancy
- Flexible, cost-effective solutions
We want to show you how we can help you and your business win more profitable growth. You can call me on 0121 485 0130 or at info@ariaconsult.co.uk. Let’s do this!
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