Find a TenderAwardedContract award notice
Published 23 Jan 2026, 12:50 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Start and Sustain · UK public procurement notice

Official notice

Authority: East Midlands Combined County Authority (Public body)·On behalf of: Nottinghamshire County Council

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Published estimate£1,400,000≈ £700k / year · £1,680,000 inc. VAT5.7% below published estimate
Submissions closed 16 Mar 2026awarded 13 Apr 2026
Award (standstill) to EAST MIDLANDS CHAMBER (DERBYSHIRE, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, LEICESTERSHIRE)
Contract term 2 yrsends 31 Mar 2028 · up to 31 Mar 2029 with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

EMCCA has devolved responsibility for delivering Transport, Housing, Economic Development, Skills and Green Growth across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

This Start up & Sustain Programme is designed to support individuals across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire who aspire to start a business, while also helping early-stage start ups to establish themselves and create a strong foundation to survive and thrive. The aim is to stimulate entrepreneurship, increase the number of businesses, improve business survival rates, and foster inclusive economic growth.

The Start up & Sustain Programme will achieve these objectives by providing tailored start up and enterprise support, expert mentoring, along with practical tools and resources.

The current contract expires on 31st March 2026, so this service is being reprocured in accordance with Procurement Act 2023 requirements.

The contract, worth up to £1,400,000 in total over 2 years, will be awarded for the initial term from June 2026 until May 2028. There is potential for 1 year extension subject to satisfactory Supplier performance and further funding approval.

CPV: Business and management consultancy services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1AwardedRenewal 2 yrsSMEVCSEPublished value£1,400,000
Contract period: 1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2028 (2 yrs) · up to 31 Mar 2029 with extensionsValue: £1,400,000 exc. VAT · £1,680,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: East MidlandsEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions: 12 month extension available subject to satisfactory Supplier performance and further funding approval.

What it takes to win
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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: 80%Price: 20%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Quality
  • Price
What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 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
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Awarded
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
23 Jan 2026, 12:50 GMT
Last source update
16 Apr 2026, 09:30 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 30 Mar 2026
Authority reference
DN804291
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-006181
Latest notice
Contract award notice (UK6)
Classification (CPV)
Business and management consultancy services
Delivery area
East Midlands (UKF1)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-060d50 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: East Midlands Tendering
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free regional portal
Submission deadline
16 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
9 Mar 2026, 17:00 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

23 Jan 2026 → 27 Apr 2026 · 8 dates
  1. Tender notice published272 days ago
    23 Jan 2026, 12:50 GMT
  2. Clarification questions by227 days ago
    9 Mar 2026, 17:00 GMT
  3. Submission deadline220 days ago
    16 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
  4. Award decision expected by205 days ago
    30 Mar 2026, 23:59 BST
  5. Contract starts204 days ago
    1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
  6. Assessment summaries sent192 days ago
    13 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
  7. Latest notice published189 days ago
    16 Apr 2026, 09:30 BST
  8. Standstill ends177 days ago
    27 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST

Notice history

8 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 Jan 2026
  1. Tender notice published
    23 Jan 2026, 12:50 GMT
    UK4
  2. Tender notice published
    6 Feb 2026, 15:23 GMT
    UK4
  3. Deadline moved to 2 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
    6 Feb 2026, 15:23 GMT
    +12 days · was 18 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
  4. Tender notice published
    24 Feb 2026, 15:49 GMT
    UK4
  5. Deadline moved to 16 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
    24 Feb 2026, 15:49 GMT
    +14 days · was 2 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
  6. Contract award notice published
    16 Apr 2026, 09:30 BST
    UK6
  7. Status changed to complete
    16 Apr 2026, 09:30 BST
  8. Contract signature expected
    4 May 2026, 23:59 BST
    scheduled
Published amendments (2)

The closing date has been extended to 12:00 noon on the 2nd March 2026

Have amended the closing date for the clarification period, the tender submission date and the contract award date

Routine re-releases (4)
  • 2026-01: 1 release · 23 Jan 2026

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £1,320,5001 award exc. VAT
Bids received 1414 from SMEs
Awarded toValueDateStatus
EAST MIDLANDS CHAMBER (DERBYSHIRE, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, LEICESTERSHIRE)SMEAwarded Contract1 Jun 2026 – 31 May 2028 · up to 31 May 2029Extensions: extension subject to satisfactory Supplier performance and further funding approval.£1,320,50013 Apr 2026standstill to 27 Apr 2026Standstill

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
14final-stage tenders · 30 at stage one140—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

East Midlands Combined County Authority

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PZXR-6887-DRNP Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre, Chesterfield, East Midlands, S40 1UTContact email

Other public bodies

  • Nottinghamshire County CouncilProcuring entityProvides Procurement ServicesGB-PPON: PBCV-5152-BXBP Nottingham, East MidlandsContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Official documents & specifications (5)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

  • Bidding documents and specifications tenderBidding documents and specificationsClink on link below and click view opportunities. Search for project DN804291 https://www.eastmidstenders.org/ Link to tendering portal advert below: https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=e58f659a-51f8-f011-813c-005056b64545&fromRfxSummary=True&rfxId=a3d2dc02-52f8-f01…

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender