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Ambitious Essex Enhanced Growth Hub

Essex County Council

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Award

05 Mar 2026 at 15:08

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

17 Feb 2026 at 18:01

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

07 Jan 2026 at 16:58

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

15 Aug 2025 at 13:27

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Essex County Council has awarded the contract for the Ambitious Essex Enhanced Growth Hub, a service aimed at supporting businesses in Essex starting in April 2026. This initiative seeks to foster growth and prosperity within Essex's large and diverse SME base by providing advice, access to business finance, and inclusive economic growth opportunities across key sectors. The procurement process was conducted using an open procedure and focused on service delivery in financial, insurance, and business services within the Chelmsford area. The contract, with a gross value of £1,368,000, was signed on 4th March 2026 and extends until 31st March 2029. Smarter Society Limited, an SME from London, is the supplier appointed to deliver these services.

This tender creates opportunities for SMEs specialising in financial, insurance, and business consulting services. Businesses with expertise in law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, and related areas could greatly benefit from engaging with this contract, as it offers a platform to showcase skills and contribute to local economic growth. Organisations with a commitment to delivering impactful business support services and innovation in the face of economic challenges will be well-suited for such opportunities, helping Essex businesses to grow sustainably while fostering skills and capabilities within the region.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Ambitious Essex Enhanced Growth Hub

Notice Description

Essex County Council (ECC) have awarded the Ambitious Essex Enhanced Growth Hub, due to begin service April 2026. The service, working closely with the Government funded Growth Hub, will help provide the front door for businesses seeking advice and support in the County, enabling them to have the knowledge necessary to achieve growth and prosperity as well as access to business finance. This approach reflects ECC's commitment to delivering a more coherent and impactful business support ecosystem, better positioned to meet the needs of Essex's large and diverse SME base and to drive inclusive economic growth across key sectors.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Options: The Authority reserves the right at any time during the Term of this Agreement to add services that are similar and/or complementary services to the Services (Additional Services) including but not limited to provisions of support services in relation to marketing, finance and construction. See Terms and Conditions publish at tender for more details of this.

Planning Information

Essex County Council is conducting soft market testing to inform the development of our future business support offer. The Council currently has a business support contract in place that will expire in March 2026, alongside our nationally funded Growth Hub contract. With changes underway in the business support landscape-including the introduction of the national Business Growth Service-we are seeking input to help shape a suitable contract and procurement process. As part of the Council's pre-procurement work, market engagement for the development of a new countywide business support service has already conducted with businesses who may use the service, via a comprehensive survey. This survey enabled us to better understand the current challenges that businesses are facing, what they would want from a business support offer, growth prospects, business support functions, and many other metrics. The Council would now like to hear from potential bidders. To respond to soft market testing please complete the questionnaire found here: https://forms.office.com/e/RPe5nEf3vv The deadline for responses is Friday 5th September.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0588ec
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020011-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

66 - Financial and insurance services

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

66000000 - Financial and insurance services

79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,140,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£1,140,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£1,140,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£1,140,000 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
5 Mar 20265 months ago
Submission Deadline
2 Feb 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
5 Sep 2025Expired
Award Date
17 Feb 20266 months ago
Contract Period
1 Apr 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Essex County Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
CHELMSFORD
Postcode
CM1 1QH
Postcode Area
Chelmsford
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH3 Essex
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH36 Heart of Essex
Delivery Location
TLH3 Essex
Local Authority
Chelmsford
Electoral Ward
Moulsham and Central
Westminster Constituency
Chelmsford

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

SMARTER SOCIETY LIMITED

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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