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GMCA 1776 Marketing Manchester Delivery Plan 2026-27

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

31 Jul 2026 at 11:08

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

29 Apr 2026 at 10:08

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

29 Apr 2026 at 09:56

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Greater Manchester Combined Authority procured strategic marketing and communications services for Greater Manchester. The programme is intended to raise the city-region’s profile regionally, nationally and internationally, increasing visits, inward investment, business conferences and sporting events. Activities include destination marketing, brand positioning, promotion of frontier sectors and investment opportunities, visitor economy strategy delivery, promotion of capital investment and real estate, support for the Manchester Accommodation Business Improvement District, and international missions and events. The work also involves collaboration with public and commercial partners, and supports GMCA’s international, industrial and visitor economy strategies. Marketing Manchester is the designated agency for promoting Greater Manchester as a place to visit, meet, study and invest, with delivery across Greater Manchester.

The procurement is complete and one supplier was awarded the contract on 29 April 2026. GMCA made a direct award to Marketing Manchester under the Procurement Act 2023 special-case provisions, citing single-supplier conditions based on technical reasons and exclusive rights. The contract was signed on 12 May 2026 and runs from 12 May 2026 to 31 March 2027. Its awarded value is £3,157,000 excluding VAT, or £3,788,400 including VAT. The award and contract are above the relevant threshold. There was one lot, covering the full requirement. The direct-award rationale states that Marketing Manchester has a unique, long-standing destination-marketing role, holds VisitEngland Local Visitor Economy Partnership status, incorporates the official tourist board and Manchester Convention Bureau, and supports priority-sector promotion.

This award indicates demand for an integrated destination-marketing partner able to combine strategic expertise with tactical marketing and communications delivery for a city-region. A credible future competitor would need experience in place branding, tourism and visitor-economy promotion, business-events marketing, inward-investment and foreign-direct-investment campaigns, frontier-sector promotion, and communications delivered across regional, national and international audiences. It would also need to coordinate effectively with public bodies, commercial partners and national organisations, support international missions and high-profile events, and align activity with economic, international and visitor-economy strategies. The incumbent’s position demonstrates the importance of recognised destination-marketing capability, established stakeholder relationships, official tourism-partnership status and the capacity to manage coordinated, multi-sector campaigns with quarterly performance reporting.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

GMCA 1776 Marketing Manchester Delivery Plan 2026-27

Notice Description

GMCA have awarded Marketing Manchester PS3,157,000 for delivery of their core activity for the 26/27 financial year. Marketing Manchester is the designated agency for promoting Greater Manchester nationally and internationally as a place to visit, meet, study, and invest, and the work they do is essential for raising the city-region's global profile and supporting inward investment. The agency also holds VisitEngland Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) status on behalf of the city-region of Greater Manchester. Marketing Manchester incorporates the official tourist board for Greater Manchester, as well as the Manchester Convention Bureau and delivers promotion focused on priority business sectors and campaigns, including enhanced promotion of GM's frontier sectors. The programme of work carried out by Marketing Manchester aims to deliver strategic marketing and communications activity to raise Greater Manchester's profile regionally, nationally, and internationally. The overarching objective of this programme of work is for Marketing Manchester to provide strategic expertise and tactical delivery of marketing and communications activity to raise the profile of Greater Manchester on a regional, national and international basis. The aims of this activity include increasing the number of visits, inward investment, business conferences and sporting events. Their specific roles and responsibilities currently include: - Leading the strategic vision for promotion and brand positioning for GM. - Promoting the strengths of GM's frontier sectors, supporting MIDAS and GMCA inward investment and FDI aspirations. - Coordinating delivery of the GM Visitor Economy Strategy. - Coordinated promotion of GM's capital investment and real estate sector. - Working in collaboration with national, regional and local public and commercial partners to collectively promote GM. - Supporting delivery of the Manchester Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID). - Delivering international missions with GMCA and supporting GM's collaborative approach to high profile international events. Marketing Manchester's work aligns to and delivers against the GM International Strategy, the GM Local Industrial Strategy and the Greater Manchester Strategy - promoting our key frontier sector strengths and investment opportunities.

Procurement Information

On the basis of sections 41(1)(a) and 41(6) (Direct award in special cases) of the PA 2023, the GMCA considers that a Direct Award of this Contract to Marketing Manchester is justified as the "Single suppliers" conditions set out at Paragraphs 5 and 6 of Schedule 5 to the PA 2023 are met as follows: - Marketing Manchester has a unique and long-standing role as the agency charged with promoting Greater Manchester nationally and internationally as a place to visit, invest, meet, and study. - Marketing Manchester holds VisitEngland Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) status on behalf of the city-region of Greater Manchester. - Marketing Manchester incorporates the official tourist board for Greater Manchester, as well as the Manchester Convention Bureau and delivers promotion focused on priority business sectors and campaigns, including enhanced promotion of GM's frontier sectors. Marketing Manchester was incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee on the 30 April 1996 with the following company objectives: 1. To promote the economic benefits of Greater Manchester and its surrounding regions ("the Area"). 2. To create and develop a widely accepted marketing image for the Area. 3. To co-ordinate and integrate marketing on behalf of the Area across the public and private sector. 4. To create partnerships and appropriate methods of communications in furtherance of these objectives. Marketing Manchester is the agency charged with promoting Greater Manchester nationally and internationally as a place to visit, invest, meet, and study. Their work is an essential component to successfully raise the profile of Manchester as the gateway to the North and improve global perceptions and city ranking. Marketing Manchester is the city-region's destination marketing organisation, which also incorporates the official tourist board for Greater Manchester, as well as the Manchester Convention Bureau. They also support Invest Manchester in the delivery of promotion focusing on priority sectors and campaigns. Their work is informed by the Greater Manchester Strategy, the Greater Manchester International Strategy and the Greater Manchester Visitor Economy Strategy.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-068d8f
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/072605-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79342000 - Marketing services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£3,157,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£3,157,000 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
31 Jul 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
29 Apr 20264 months ago
Contract Period
12 May 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
MANCHESTER
Postcode
M1 6EU
Postcode Area
Manchester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD3 Greater Manchester
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD33 Manchester
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Manchester
Electoral Ward
Deansgate
Westminster Constituency
Manchester Central

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Marketing Manchester

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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