Official UK procurement notice
Growth Gateway · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) intends to extend and scale up an existing contract, Growth Gateway. Growth Gateway (GG) aims to deliver development impact through increased two way trade and investment between the UK and Middle Income Countries (MICs) and Low Income Countries (LICs). The programme combines official development assistance (ODA) and non-ODA funding to deliver socio-economic impact against logframe targets and identify commercial opportunities for UK growth.
CPV: Foreign affairs and other services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1This notice is to indicate that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office…
This notice is to indicate that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) intends to extend and scale up the contract with the named supplier for Growth Gateway (GG).
The contract financial limit will be uplifted by an additional £30,000,000 and extend by a further 7 months to take the contract end date to 31 March 2028.
This notice constitutes a Voluntary ex ante notice under Regulation 99 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The Authority considers the award of this contract modification is permitted under Regulation 72 (1) (b) of those Regulations, and therefore subject to publication of a notice under that provision, however the Authority also intends to observe a 10 day standstill period under regulation 99 (3)(c).
The programme has 5 core objectives:
- Mobilising trade and investment pipelines – via firm-level and transformational projects, and MAB reform
- Catalysing inclusive growth and jobs – especially for women and marginalised groups
- Promoting economic diplomacy – strengthening strategic partnerships aligned to UK priority areas
- Advancing UK climate leadership – accelerating action from policy to mobilisation, working with partners
- Boosting UK growth – driving commercial deals and opening future markets aligned to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy
The additional budget and time will allow for Growth Gateway to continue to deliver its role as a key delivery mechanism for the Growth Community of Expertise and allow it to meet the current and anticipated demands across FCDO and utilise Growth Gateway to step up support for inclusive and sustainable growth, economic partnerships and climate transition in line with Minister’s priorities. Finally given the Growth CoE will absorb and build on the lessons, networks and pipeline results generated by Growth Gateway, it is imperative that Growth Gateway’s closure is correctly sequenced with the standing up of the Growth CoE to ensure value for money for both programmes.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 7 Sept 2026, 12:03 BST
- Last source update
- 7 Sept 2026, 12:03 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-084332- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f356Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) intends to increase the financial ceiling of the Growth Gateway (GG) contract by £30,000,000.
The modification is made under Regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The additional funding will enable continued delivery of the existing Growth Gateway service model at the scale and pace required to meet current demand and support transition to the successor Growth Community of Expertise Technical Assistance Facility. The modification does not introduce new services or materially alter the nature or scope of the contract.
FCDO considers that a change of contractor cannot be made for economic and technical reasons. The incumbent supplier is responsible for a live pipeline of activities and has established relationships with Posts, partner governments, investors and private sector stakeholders, together with programme-specific knowledge developed over the life of the contract. Appointing an alternative supplier for the remaining contract period would require mobilisation, transfer of knowledge and subsequent handover to the successor programme, creating significant inconvenience, duplication of costs and increased delivery risk.
The modification does not exceed 50% of the original total contract value and the overall nature of the contract remains unchanged. The amendment is time-limited and supports delivery continuity, value for money and an orderly transition to successor Growth CoE arrangements.
Publisher note: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) intends to award a £30,000,000 scale up and time extension to 31 March 2028 to the Growth Gateway programme. This amendment is made under Regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, which permits modifications because additional services by the original contractor have become necessary where a change of contractor cannot be made for economic or technical reasons and would cause significant inconvenience or substantial duplication of costs for the contracting authority. FCDO considers that the scale up can be awarded without prior publication of a notice under Part 2 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 using the procedure in regulation 99(3) (VEAT notice). The modification does not exceed 50% of the original total contract value. The additional funding allows for the programme to deliver at the same scale and scope until the successor programme can be in place. The nature and scope of the contract remain unchanged. This amendment will allow for delivery continuity, value for money, handover to the successor Growth CoE, and management of risks. It avoids a delivery gap, preserves the live pipeline and established relationships built up during this programme and avoids duplicated mobilisation and handover costs
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Boston Consulting Group UK LLPSubcontracting: declared | £108,900,000 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Growth Gateway · The Boston Consulting Group UK LLP
- Signed
- 7 Sept 2026
- Value
- £108,900,000
- Status
- active
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)Mediation body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Boston Consulting Group UK LLPAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.