Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 9 Oct 2026, 14:58 BST

Official UK procurement notice

WM Collaborator fund- Networks and Leadership Programme pre-market engagement

Official notice

Authority: West Midlands Combined Authority (Local council)

ServicesAbove threshold
Planned pipeline value£2,300,000pipeline notice — not a live tender
Tender notice expected 7 Dec 2026from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 1 yr 11 moends 31 Mar 2029 · starts 17 May 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) are looking to complete a further Pre-Market Engagement (PME) to gather information from the market around the Creative industry.

The West Midlands has a large and diverse creative economy, characterised by a high proportion of small organisations, micro-businesses and freelancers operating across different creative subsectors and places. While there is already a range of business, skills and sector support available, evidence informing the development of the WM Collaborator Fund has identified gaps in the support available to help creative businesses, organisations and individuals progress, scale and access higher-value opportunities.

WMCA is undertaking this pre-market engagement exercise to better understand current challenges, test the proposed approach, identify effective delivery models, and gather feedback that will inform the design of any future programme and associated procurement activity. Feedback will help shape the scope, outcomes and delivery approach of any intervention that may be commissioned.

**Suppliers are invited to attend an engagement event held via Microsoft Teams on 26th October at 1:30pm. Suppliers who submit an interest in this PME by 5pm on the 23rd will be sent an invitation link.

PLEASE NOTE – This is an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition and therefore publication or response does not commit WMCA or respondents to a future procurement, nor provide any process exemptions or preferential treatment to any parties expressing an interest.

Please also note that this is not a formal PQQ or expression of interest in a tender exercise. This Pre-Market Engagement is to be used purely by WMCA to gather information.

** Please Note that suppliers should not contact officers of the WMCA directly regarding this opportunity, all questions should be submitted through the Bravo Portal.

Portal Website:

https://wmca.bravosolution.co.uk

Bravo Solution Project Reference: project_1254

Pipeline notice- ocds-h6vhtk-06e69b

CPV: Corporate finance and venture capital services · Financial consultancy services · Project-management services other than for construction work

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Planned 1 yr 11 mo
Contract period: 17 May 2027 — 31 Mar 2029 (1 yr 11 mo)Delivery: UK, West Midlands
66122000 Corporate finance and venture capital services66171000 Financial consultancy services79421000 Project-management services other than for construction work

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Planned procurement
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
9 Oct 2026, 14:58 BST
Last source update
9 Oct 2026, 14:58 BST
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-095749
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Corporate finance and venture capital servicesFinancial consultancy servicesProject-management services other than for construction work
Delivery area
UKWest Midlands (UKG)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0784ef Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Planning notice publishedearlier today
    9 Oct 2026, 14:58 BST
  2. Market engagementin 28 days
    6 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMTWest Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) are looking to complete a further Pre-Market Engagement (PME) to gather information from the market around the Creative industry. The West Midlands has a large and diverse creative economy, characterised by a high proportion of small organisations, micro-businesses and freelancers operating across different creative subsectors and places. While there is already a range of business, skills and sector support available, evidence informing the development of the WM Collaborator Fund has identified gaps in the support available to help creative businesses, organisations and individuals progress, scale and access higher-value opportunities. WMCA is undertaking this pre-market engagement exercise to better understand current challenges, test the proposed approach, identify effective delivery models, and gather feedback that will inform the design of any future programme and associated procurement activity. Feedback will help shape the scope, outcomes and delivery approach of any intervention that may be commissioned. **Suppliers are invited to attend an engagement event held via Microsoft Teams on 26th October at 1:30pm. Suppliers who submit an interest in this PME by 5pm on the 23rd will be sent an invitation link. PLEASE NOTE – This is an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition and therefore publication or response does not commit WMCA or respondents to a future procurement, nor provide any process exemptions or preferential treatment to any parties expressing an interest. Please also note that this is not a formal PQQ or expression of interest in a tender exercise. This Pre-Market Engagement is to be used purely by WMCA to gather information. ** Please Note that suppliers should not contact officers of the WMCA directly regarding this opportunity, all questions should be submitted through the Bravo Portal. Portal Website: https://wmca.bravosolution.co.uk Bravo Solution Project Reference: project_1254 Pipeline notice- ocds-h6vhtk-06e69b
  3. Tender notice expectedin 59 days
    7 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
  4. Contract startsin 219 days
    17 May 2027, 00:00 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

2 events · 1 release on Find a Tender · since 9 Oct 2026
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    9 Oct 2026, 14:58 BSTUK2
  2. First planning notice published
    9 Oct 2026, 14:58 BST

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

West Midlands Combined Authority

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PGMD-1353-PZVX 16 Summer Lane, Birmingham, West Midlands, B19 3SD [email protected]

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure