The Bank of England reduced Bank Rate to 4.25% in May 2025. It would have been easy to read that as a generally favourable sign for project viability. It would have been a mistake to use it as evidence that an expired supplier quotation remained valid.
A quotation is a commercial offer with its own conditions. Its validity may depend on manufacturing capacity, material commitments, currency or a stated acceptance date. Those conditions do not disappear because the policy-rate outlook improves.
The most useful action is usually a direct one: return to the supplier with the current scope and programme and request confirmation.
| Date | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Price date | Market basis of the offer |
| Validity expiry | Last date for acceptance on stated terms |
| Required delivery | Programme and escalation exposure |
A quotation-control aid. These dates may differ and should not be used interchangeably.
Preserve the original offer
Keep the original price and the reconfirmed price as separate records. If the amount has changed, ask what has changed with it. A revised total may include a different delivery basis or a qualification that was absent from the first offer.
For budget work, an expired quotation can still be a reference, but it should be labelled as such. Record the adjustment used and the reason the team believes it is appropriate.
I would be cautious about a cost plan that describes every quotation as current while using prices collected at different design stages. The apparent certainty makes later movement harder to explain.
Interest-rate decisions provide context. The supplier’s confirmed commitment is the evidence needed for the package price.