Businesses thrive in the nation's forests
Forestry England have a diverse range of recreation businesses operating in the nation's forests. From cafes to ice cream and burger mobile catering, gift shops to bike hire and Segways. Team building activities, external training courses and paintballing to seasonal business such as Christmas tree sales. The variety and quality of the businesses we work with help to make the nation's forests special places to visit.
Explore current opportunities below or get in touch to propose something new.
West Walk Forest of Bere (Hampshire) Mobile Food and Beverage Sales Opportunity
The Forestry Commission is inviting tenders for the provision of a mobile food and beverage sales concession at West Walk in the Forest of Bere, Hampshire. Set over 350 ha of historic woodland within the South Downs National Park, West Walk is a very popular site that serves the nearby populations of Portsmouth, Fareham and Southampton. The site is a key outdoor recreation destination in the area, particularly for family groups and dog walkers who make use of the walking trails, cycling trails, outdoor play and picnic spots that are easily accessed from the car park. The average stay for the 100,000-120,000 visits received annually is a little over 2 hours. Although weekends and school holidays are the busiest time at the site, there is consistent weekday footfall throughout the year.
West Walk car park has capacity for approximately 100 cars with neighbouring car parks of Wood End and Upperford Copse offering parking for a further hundred vehicles. All three sites have well established pay-to-park facilities. As there is no admission fee to access the woodlands, the car park charge contributes to the upkeep of trails, toilets and recreation facilities. You can view a map of the site here, and a map of the wider forest here. Further information about the site can be found on our web page: https://www.forestryengland.uk/west-walk
For further enquiries regarding this lease please refer to the invitation to quote document here , and you can direct any questions tosouthern.enquiries@forestryengland.uk , quoting West Walk Concession Opportunity.
The deadline for any questions is 12 noon on 5th June 2023.
Completed quotations must be sent to southern.enquiries@forestryengland.uk and received by 12 noon on 12th June 2023.
Parkhurst Forest Mobile Food and Beverage Sales Opportunity
The Forestry Commission is inviting tenders for the provision of a mobile catering concession at Parkhurst Forest on the Isle of Wight. This popular site provides visitors with year-round recreational adventures. Parkhurst Forest is one of the oldest forests in the country, with rare species such as Red Squirrel loved by visitors.
Mobile food and drink sales will be a new service to this location but has proved viable at forests nearby. We are looking for a vendor with a mobile refreshment unit to provide a regular visitor offer. The site is particularly busy at weekend and school holidays, it is also popular with local people regularly seeking exercise, or walking dogs. You can view a map of the site here, and a map of the wider forest location here.
For further enquiries regarding this lease please refer to the invitation to quote document here, and you can direct any questions to southern.reception@forestryengland.uk, quoting Parkhurst Concession Opportunity.
The deadline for any questions is 12 noon on 6th June 2023. The licence start date will be from 10th July 2023.
Completed quotations must be sent to southern.reception@forestryengland.uk and received by 12 noon on 12th June 2023.
East England Forest District Catering Concessions
Forestry England have a future tender requirement for the operation of the catering concession leases at Bedgebury National Pinetum, Jeskyns Community Woodland, and Hole Farm Community Woodland.
The leases will be for a period of 10 years, with a mutual break clause operable at the end of year 5 subject to 12 months' prior notice.
Further information and register interest
Expressions of interest for ticket agents
Primary ticket agents for our Forest Live music programme.
Interested parties will be considered on a number of factors, including:
- Database size
- Sales experience relevant to our product (genre)
- Geographical area served
- Credit history
- Ability to send e-tickets and to replicate Forestry England ticket design
- Stance on the secondary sales market
Decisions will be made depending on opportunities available, which may be limited by existing ticket agents. Please note there is a maximum number of agents we are able to work with at any one time so opportunities may not always be available.
Visit our Forest Live music programme for further information.
Expressions of interest in this work can be made at any time by contacting customerrelations@forestryengland.uk
Expressions of interest are invited for commercial marketing partnerships
We are continually looking for commercial marketing partnerships and sponsorship that meet our marketing objectives.
We have a range of events that can be sponsored and we are happy to talk to companies and organisations about innovative ways to explain who we are and what we do and promote our sites to their customers.
Our objectives are:
- Inform people about our work
- Raise awareness of our sites, events, activities and membership
- Raise awareness of the importance of trees, woods and forests
We have recently worked with companies to promote our forest and activities via their websites and apps. We would be interested in hearing about other similar opportunities.
Expressions of interest in this work can be made at any time by contacting marketing@forestryengland.uk
