Find a TenderAwarded

Published 20 Nov 2025, 12:57 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Rural Growth Deal (RGD) Business Skills and Leadership Programme

Authority: Highlands and Islands Enterprise

ServicesOpen procedureSME suitable

Sectors: IT Services & Software (72)Business Services & Consultancy (79)Education & Training (80) Delivery: Scotland (UKM63)

Published estimate£474,000≈ £95k / year

Submissions closed 23 Dec 2025awarded 24 Jul 2026

Awarded to Skillfluence Limited

Contract term 5 yrsends 19 Apr 2031 · extension options published · starts 20 Apr 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

THIS IS A CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE AND AS SUCH THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS IS COMPLETE.

The supplier will deliver a Business Skills and Leadership Programme specifically for Argyll and Bute Council area. This programme is fully funded by the Argyll and Bute Rural Growth Deal (RGD) and will be available to participants within this geographic area.

The programme will consist of 3 strands. 1 Young and Emerging Leaders Programme; 2. Leadership for Growth/Strategic Leadership Programme and 3. Mentoring Programme. Strands 1 and 2 will be delivered to cohort of participants through a series of modules, delivered via workshops. Delivery will be a hybrid model i.e, a blend of on-line and face-to-face delivery. The mentoring programme will be mainly online apart from the first session that must be face-to-face.

The contract will be let from 27 July 2026 for 3 years unless terminated in accordance with the provisions of the Contract, with HIE having the option to extend for two periods of one year each (3+1+1) together not exceeding 5 years following the Initial Term.

CPV: Adult and other education services · Business and management consultancy and related services · Business and management consultancy services · Business development consultancy services · General management consultancy services · Management training services · Personal development training services · Project management consultancy services · Technical and vocational secondary education services · Training programme services · Training seminars · Training services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published

Lot #1The value used in II.1.7 and V.2.4 is the estimated total budget figure available over…AwardedRenewal 5 yrsPublished value£474,000

The value used in II.1.7 and V.2.4 is the estimated total budget figure available over the maximum duration of 3 + 1 + 1 years (GBP 474,000).

This figure includes provision for annual price increases, including the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Real Living Wage uplifts, from Year 3 onwards. It also incorporates an allowance to account for variations between initial estimates and actual costs for travel, accommodation, and conference venue hire.

The successful bidder price for the initial 3 years is GBP 249,900 - Within this figure there are estimated figures of:

GBP 18,000 (conference venue hire, accommodation for participants for strands 1 and 2);
GBP 4,500 (travel and accommodation for mentors for first in persons session);
GBP 6,000 (travel and accommodation for island-based programme delivery)

Contract period: 20 Apr 2026 – 19 Apr 2031 (5 yrs)

Delivery: Scotland · Argyll and Bute

Extensions: In accordance with Regulation 72(1)(a) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, HIE reserves the right to make changes to the volume and/or scope of the Services to be supplied under the Contract following a review of the Services by HIE, particularly with regard to demand and budgetary availability. This may result in amendments to requirements under the contract, including but not limited to: -The Scottish Government routed via Argyll and Bute Council will provide funding to HIE on an ongoing annual basis. HIE reserves the contractual right, at its sole discretion, to adjust the scope of services under Strands 1, 2, and 3 to align with the available budget. This may include, but is not limited to, reducing activities, pausing delivery, or terminating the programme. -Following the initial 3-year contract term, HIE reserves the contractual right, at its sole discretion, to vary the scope of services under Strands 1, 2, and 3. This may include, but is not limited to, reducing activity, pausing or terminating one or more of the Strands. This contract modification option will be also available for potential year 5 of the contract. -If additional funding becomes available, it may be allocated to expand the number of participants. Bidders’ rates will apply to any increases. -If the anticipated number of participants cannot be recruited, service volumes and requirements may be adjusted accordingly. · The option to extend for two periods of one year each (3 + 1 +1) together not exceeding 5 years following the Initial Term.Variant bids: not allowed

72224000 Project management consultancy services 79400000 Business and management consultancy and related services 79410000 Business and management consultancy services 79411000 General management consultancy services 79411100 Business development consultancy services 80210000 Technical and vocational secondary education services

What it takes to win
i
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more

How bids were scored

Quality: 60%Price: 40%

Published sub-criteria (6)

Management & Delivery Methodology: 25%
Management & Delivery Team: 20%
Reporting Requirements: 5%
Monitoring and Reporting of Community Benefits: 5%
Fair Work Practices: 5%
price: 40%

Published award criteria (9)

Management & Delivery Methodology: 25%
Management & Delivery Team: 20%
Reporting Requirements: 5%
Monitoring and Reporting of Community Benefits: 5%
Fair Work Practices: 5%
Prompt Payment Standard Clause: Pass/Fail
Cyber Security: Pass/Fail
Payment of the Real Living Wage: Pass/Fail
Price: 40%

Staff: Names and qualifications of delivery staff must be submitted

What this means for your bid

Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record · publisher note attached

Procedure method: Open procedure
Legal basis: CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
Procurement category: Services
Notice status: Awarded
Procurement threshold: Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime: Standard
Commercial structure: Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type: Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered: Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement: No (one-off requirement)
First published: 20 Nov 2025, 12:57 GMT
Last source update: 28 Jul 2026, 11:35 BST
Award evaluation window: 23 Dec 2025 – …
Authority reference: FTS044
FTS notice number: 2026/S 000-071135
Classification (CPV): Adult and other education servicesBusiness and management consultancy and related servicesBusiness and management consultancy servicesBusiness development consultancy servicesGeneral management consultancy servicesManagement training servicesPersonal development training servicesProject management consultancy servicesTechnical and vocational secondary education servicesTraining programme services
+2 more
Training seminarsTraining services
Delivery area: Scotland (UKM63)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05e56f Find a Tender

Contract terms

Electronic trading: e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
Performance terms: Refer to the Scope of Requirements and Guidance document.

Publisher note: (SC Ref:838424)

How it was run

Official notice

Run through: Public Contracts Scotland · Who buys & how to bid on PCS

Supplier login requiredLanguage: EN

Access & registration note: Free single registration for Scotland; PCS-Tender (Jaggaer) for full bidding

Submission deadline: 23 Dec 2025, 12:00 GMT
Submission channel: {"electronicSubmission"}
Accepted languages: en
Bid validity: 120 days from the deadline
Bids opened: 23 Dec 2025, 12:00 GMT

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk ↗

Timeline

23 Dec 2025 → 28 Jul 2026 · 4 dates

Submission deadline302 days ago
23 Dec 2025, 12:00 GMT
Bids opened302 days ago
23 Dec 2025, 12:00 GMT
Contract starts185 days ago
20 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice published85 days ago
28 Jul 2026, 11:35 BST

Notice history

1 event · 2 releases on Find a Tender

Status changed to complete
28 Jul 2026, 11:35 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 1

Awarded value £474,0001 contract exc. VAT

Bids received 1110 from SMEs

Contracts signed 1latest 24 Jul 2026

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
Skillfluence LimitedSMESubcontracting: declared	£474,000 †	—	Awarded

Contracts

Contract 071135-2026-FTS044-1 · Skillfluence LimitedSME
Signed
24 Jul 2026
Value
£474,000
Period
… – 19 Apr 2031
Status
active

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
11bids · 11 electronic · 11 from abroad	10	—	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Highlands and Islands Enterprise

Contracting authorityRegional or local agency/officeEconomic affairs An Lòchran, 10 Inverness Campus, Inverness, Scotland, IV2 5NAContact email, phone Published organisation website ↗

Dispute resolution & review bodies

Inverness Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace CourtReview body InvernessContact email, phone

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Skillfluence LimitedAwarded supplier Baltic Chamber B35, 50 Wellington St, Glasgow, Scotland, G2 6HJContact phone

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Economic and financial selection criteriatenderEconomic and financial selection criteria
Technical selection criteriatenderTechnical selection criteria