The OP said

Which implied to me that the shop might close, or at the very least change hands. The invitation for tender, which had a deadline dated start of July, backs this scenario up.

OakR, actually my (limited!) understanding is that if the job stays the same and there is a seamless transfer of role then TUPE can apply. I was imagining that the old leaseholder would probably want to close the premises before a new one took over so a break in contract would occur.

Belated welcome to TrypF :-)