Award

Structured Guarantees

BRITISH BUSINESS BANK

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Award

24 Mar 2026 at 21:54

TenderUpdate

03 Dec 2025 at 16:05

TenderUpdate

19 Nov 2025 at 10:13

Tender

17 Nov 2025 at 19:06

Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process for the provision of "Structured Guarantees" has been completed, with the British Business Bank serving as the buying organisation. This contract falls under the category of services and aims to enhance the financial market operational services for UK SMEs. The procurement was conducted via an open, competitive flexible procedure, and the contract is valued at £1.8 million gross. The procurement process reached the award stage on 24 March 2026, with the contract expected to start on 16 April 2026, lasting until 15 April 2031. Five Sigma Finance Limited, located in London, UK, was selected as the supplier. The award was based on the comprehensive evaluation criteria which emphasised quality and presentations, price, and social value.

For businesses, particularly SMEs with expertise in structured finance transactions, this tender offers substantial growth opportunities. The focus is on interpreting legal documents and automating rules within a technology solution, enabling streamlined management for both lenders and the Banking Operations team. Given the thorough evaluation process, companies with solid experience in portfolio management and data processing, alongside computer consultancy services, are well-positioned to compete in such tenders. This collaboration with the BBB provides a platform for innovative financial solutions that can enhance lending practices, contributing to the broader objective of improving finance accessibility for UK SMEs.

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How relevant is this notice?

Notice Title

Structured Guarantees

Notice Description

The British Business Bank (BBB) is the UK economic development bank with an objective of making finance markets work better for small businesses. The BBB typically operates on a wholesale basis through the existing financial ecosystem with lenders partnering with the BBB in areas that increase the supply, diversity and regionality of finance for UK SMEs. Structured Guarantees (SGs) is one of the wholesale product offerings provided by the BBB. It primarily supports the BBB's objectives by aiming to increase the availability of finance to UK SMEs and promoting competition within the SME debt finance market. It does this by encouraging lenders to increase their lending by, for example, addressing the high capital consumption associated with such lending. SGs is branded as two separate programmes, but the underlying aims and structures are broadly the same for both: 1.ENABLE Guarantees: This programme is operated on behalf of the Department of Business and Trade (DBT). It was announced at the Government's 2013 Autumn Statement, with the first Request for Proposals (RFP) published in 2014. The programme was initially only open to banks but expanded to include non-banks in 2019. This programme is not limited in the types of lending it can support, as long as the underlying lending is targeted at UK SMEs. Examples of the types of lending supported include secured lending against commercial property to support a business's working capital or growth needs, dealer floorplan finance, and asset / invoice finance. 2.ENABLE Build: The programme was launched in 2019 with the BBB operating the scheme on behalf of Ministry for Housing Community and Local Government (MHCLG), the government department responsible for housebuilding. Unlike ENABLE Guarantees, the programme only supports finance going to smaller housebuilders. Under both programmes, the BBB (acting on behalf of the government) take on a portion of the risk of a portfolio of debt finance to SMEs, in return for a fee. The guarantee is priced and structured such that a positive return is expected for government under all but the most adverse economic scenarios. Lenders under the programmes are required to report monthly or quarterly on the performance of the transactions. They are required to submit loan level information across a number of fields, some of which are consistent across transactions and some of which are transaction specific. Currently, banks submit this data in three separate files, while non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) submit all data in one file across separate tabs. NBFI submissions have consistently been poor in quality and format causing significant operational inefficiencies and risk exposure. The three separate files submitted by banks contain loan-level regulatory data and BBB-specific fields, but data validation rules cannot be applied unless the data is merged, which is a manual and time-consuming process. Currently all reporting by the BBB is being done manually via excel but given the complex nature of each portfolio, the Structured Financial Institutions Solutions (SFIS) team spend a significant amount of time managing each transaction to ensure adherence to the terms of the structure. Each transaction is structured specifically for each lender which means the chosen supplier will need to independently acquire a detailed understanding of the legal documents and the terms contained within them, as well as of the underlying portfolio and data. What are our goals As the programmes scale, the BBB is looking for a partner to provide expert knowledge in structured finance transactions including independent interpretation of legal documents, translating them into automated rules which would feed into a technology solution accessible to both BBB, lenders, and a calculation agent. The objective is to streamline and de-risk the manual processes from both the perspective of the lender and the Banking Operations team. Tenderers are also directed to the Specification for the Project Requirements, as set out in Appendix 6 (Specification) of the Invitation To Participate (ITP).

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e2d8
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027077-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

66 - Financial and insurance services

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support


CPV Codes

66140000 - Portfolio management services

66151000 - Financial market operational services

72310000 - Data-processing services

72600000 - Computer support and consultancy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,500,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£1,500,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£1,500,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
24 Mar 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
22 Dec 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
24 Mar 20261 months ago
Contract Period
15 Apr 2026 - 15 Apr 2031 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
BRITISH BUSINESS BANK
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
SHEFFIELD
Postcode
S1 2GQ
Post Town
Sheffield
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLE Yorkshire and The Humber
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLE3 South Yorkshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLE32 Sheffield
Delivery Location
Not specified

Local Authority
Sheffield
Electoral Ward
City
Westminster Constituency
Sheffield Central

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

FIVE SIGMA FINANCE

Further Information

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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