Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice

Published 1 Apr 2026, 11:36 BST

Official UK procurement notice

UKRI-5955 IUK Venture Builder Pilot

Official notice

Authority: UK Research and Innovation (Central government)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable

Sectors: Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery: UKSouth West (UKK14)

Published estimate£1,250,000≈ £1.3m / year · £1,500,000 inc. VAT · 1 value update0.8% below published estimate

Submissions closed 29 Jun 2026awarded 24 Jul 2026

Awarded to PIONEERING VENTURES LIMITED

Contract term 1 yrends 31 Jul 2027 · up to 31 Jul 2028 with extensions · starts 3 Aug 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Venture Builder pilot takes validated deep-tech teams in three Industrial Strategy priority sectors and works intensively to bring them to the point where an investor can make a decision.

CPV: Business development consultancy services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published

Lot #1AwardedRenewal 1 yrSMEVCSEPublished value£1,250,000

Contract period: 3 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2027 (1 yr) · up to 31 Jul 2028 with extensionsValue: £1,250,000 exc. VAT · £1,500,000 inc. VAT

Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible

Extensions: UKRI may increase the value of the contract to include additional similar services where permitted to do so under Schedule 8 of the Procurement Act 2023. · The Contract duration shall be for a period of 12 months with an option to extend for further period of up to 12 months (1+1).

79411100 Business development consultancy 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: 70%Price: 30%

Published sub-criteria (2)

Technical/Quality: 70%
Price: 30%

Published award criteria (2)

Price
Technical/Quality

What this means for your bid

Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 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: Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement: Unspecified in notice
First published: 1 Apr 2026, 11:36 BST
Last source update: 25 Aug 2026, 16:00 BST
Award evaluation window: Submission end – 29 Jul 2026
Authority reference: UKRI-5955
FTS notice number: 2026/S 000-051008
Latest notice: Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV): Business development consultancy services
Delivery area: UKSouth West (UKK14)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-067a85 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice

Run through: UKRI eSourcing

Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN

Access & registration note: Free

Submission deadline: 29 Jun 2026, 17:00 BST
Clarification deadline: 17 Jun 2026, 17:00 BST
Submission channel: Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission: Allowed
Accepted languages: en

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Please note the following steps for accessing this opportunity via the Atamis eSourcing platform:

Log in or create an account here: ukri2.my.site.com ↗
Navigate to the opportunity in the Find an Opportunity section of the site or via the direct access link above.
Select Register Interest (you will not be able to view the tender documentation without registering an interest).
Go back to the main menu and navigate to the My Proposals and Quotes section of the site.
Select the opportunity from the list. Tender Documents for download are found in the Documents tab.

Timeline

1 Apr 2026 → 25 Aug 2026 · 10 dates

Planning notice published205 days ago
1 Apr 2026, 11:36 BST
Market engagement184 days ago
21 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
Market engagement Webinar
Tender notice published147 days ago
29 May 2026, 16:23 BST
Clarification questions by128 days ago
17 Jun 2026, 17:00 BST
Submission deadline116 days ago
29 Jun 2026, 17:00 BST
Award decision expected by85 days ago
29 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
Assessment summaries sent81 days ago
3 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
Contract starts81 days ago
3 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
Standstill ends70 days ago
13 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
Latest notice published59 days ago
25 Aug 2026, 16:00 BST

Notice history

12 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 1 Apr 2026

Preliminary market engagement notice published
1 Apr 2026, 11:36 BST
UK2
Tender notice published
29 May 2026, 16:23 BST
UK4
Published value updated to £1,250,000
29 May 2026, 16:23 BST
was £1,200,000
Status changed to active
29 May 2026, 16:23 BST
Procurement method changed
29 May 2026, 16:23 BST
Deadline published: 25 Jun 2026, 17:00 BST
29 May 2026, 16:23 BST
Tender notice published
22 Jun 2026, 08:46 BST
UK4
Deadline moved to 29 Jun 2026, 17:00 BST
22 Jun 2026, 08:46 BST
+4 days · was 25 Jun 2026, 17:00 BST
Contract award notice published
3 Aug 2026, 16:40 BST
UK6
Status changed to complete
3 Aug 2026, 16:40 BST
Contract signature expected
14 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
scheduled
Contract details notice published
25 Aug 2026, 16:00 BST
UK7

Published amendments (1)

The deadline for submissions has been extended from 25/06/2026 to 29/06/2026.

Routine re-releases (5)

2026-05: 1 release · 29 May 2026
2026-04: 1 release · 1 Apr 2026

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 1

Awarded value £1,240,0001 award exc. VAT

Bids received 1413 from SMEs

Contracts signed 1latest 18 Aug 2026

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
PIONEERING VENTURES LIMITED17 Aug 2026 – 16 Aug 2027 · up to 16 Aug 2028Extensions: The Contract duration shall be for a period of 12 months with an option to extend for further period of up to 12 months (1+1). · Options: UKRI may increase the value of the contract to include additional similar services where permitted to do so under Schedule 8 of the Procurement Act 2023.	£1,240,000	24 Jul 2026	Awarded

Contracts

UKRI-5955 IUK Venture Builder Pilot · PIONEERING VENTURES LIMITED
Signed
18 Aug 2026
Value
£1,240,000
Period
19 Aug 2026 – 19 Aug 2027 · up to 18 Aug 2028 with extensions
Status
active
Extensions
The Contract duration shall be for a period of 12 months with an option to extend for further period of up to 12 months (1+1).
Options
UKRI may increase the value of the contract to include additional similar services where permitted to do so under Schedule 8 of the Procurement Act 2023.
No agreed KPIs: Not required

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
14final-stage tenders	13	0	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

UK Research & Innovation

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PDQJ-7126-JDHG Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon, South West, SN2 1FLContact email, phone

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

PIONEERING VENTURES LIMITEDAwarded supplierGB-PPON: PJYB-2324-BGJJ 3rd Floor 86 - 90 Paul Street,, London, London, EC2A 4NEContact email

Official documents & specifications (5)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender25 Aug 2026, 16:00 BST
Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender3 Aug 2026, 16:40 BST
Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender22 Jun 2026, 08:46 BST
Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender29 May 2026, 16:23 BST
Preliminary market engagement notice planningPreliminary market engagement noticeUK2Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender1 Apr 2026, 11:36 BST