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Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub Business Support Services

ENTERPRISE CHESHIRE AND WARRINGTON

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

20 Jul 2026 at 15:30

UK4 - Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

20 Jul 2026 at 08:20

UK4 - Tender Notice
Tender

30 Jun 2026 at 13:10

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington is procuring business and management consultancy services for the Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub. The service will provide flexible, responsive and practical support to small and medium-sized businesses across Cheshire and Warrington, complementing national, regional and local provision. It will be embedded within the existing Growth Hub and support the National Business Growth Service. The requirement covers hands-on adviser support, follow-up, business readiness, clear referral routes, feedback loops and navigation between support providers. Its purpose is to maintain continuity while a future Combined Authority-led service is developed, while creating a scalable approach that can adapt to devolved arrangements. The work is classified as business and management consultancy and related services.

The procurement has reached tender: the buyer invited offers through a below-threshold open competition. It has one lot and is suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprises. Enquiries had to be submitted by 4pm on 10 July 2026, and the final deadline for tenders was extended to 4pm on 31 July 2026. The contract is scheduled to run from 24 August 2026 to 23 August 2027, with quarterly reviews. Its estimated value is £140,000 excluding VAT (£168,000 including VAT). Offers are evaluated on quality, with 75% for technical merit and 25% for proposed KPIs. The service must deliver continuous improvement against KPIs, customer satisfaction and other contract measures.

This opportunity suits providers with experience delivering business support, consultancy or related advisory services to SMEs, particularly across a multi-provider support ecosystem. Bidders need the capacity to supply timely, proportionate and hands-on advice, follow up businesses after initial contact, assess business readiness and create effective referral pathways. Strong relationship management, service-level control and quality assurance processes are central requirements. The buyer is also seeking innovative and cost-effective ways to improve efficiency and achieve economies of scale, so suppliers should be able to demonstrate practical service design and continuous improvement. Capability to define and manage meaningful KPIs, monitor customer satisfaction and respond to performance measures will be important during delivery.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub Business Support Services

Notice Description

This ITT sets out the information which is required in order to assess the suitability of bidders in terms of their capacity to deliver flexible, responsive business support, quality assurance processes, relationship management, service levels and innovative solutions to meet the requirements of ECW for Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub Support Services Across Cheshire and Warrington, businesses have had access to a wide range of support offers. However, this provision is often time limited, programme specific, or fragmented across organisations, which can make navigation difficult for SMEs. Businesses frequently report uncertainty about who does what, leading to disengagement after initial enquiry. The available services have been curtailed recently due to funding reductions. ECW is commissioning a service to address this gap on an interim basis via an embedded service within the existing Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub. The service should be designed to also add resource to the National Business Growth Service by ensuring businesses receive timely, proportionate, hands on support that helps them take action and progress. The additional service will operate as part of the Growth Hub and is intended to complement, existing provision at a national, regional and local level. The interim provision will include practical delivery, hands on adviser support, follow up, and business readiness -ensuring clear referral pathways, feedback loops, and effective navigation across the ecosystem. ECW wish to secure efficiencies and economies of scale by means of a procurement exercise for meeting the requirements detailed within this documentation. The principle benefits anticipated by ECW in this procurement include; * Ability to maximise opportunities for best value and efficient services * To allow bidders to explore efficiencies, which may be possible by suggesting innovative and cost-effective solutions * Presentation of cost savings to ECW in order to maximise economical operational efficiency and value for money * A resultant contract that meets the tender requirements and supports ECW with their ambition This service would be commissioned on an interim basis for 12 months, with quarterly reviews. This is intended to maintain continuity of business support during the transition to a Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority-led service, while also establishing a scalable model capable of adapting to future devolved arrangements. During the contract life, the successful bidder will need to achieve continuous improvement against KPIs, customer satisfaction and other contract measures. Failure to do so may result in the contract being terminated.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c01a
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/068355-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - open competition
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79400000 - Business and management consultancy and related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£140,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
£140,000 £100K-£500K
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
20 Jul 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
31 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
24 Aug 2026 - 23 Aug 2027 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Active
Lots Status
Active
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
ENTERPRISE CHESHIRE AND WARRINGTON
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
WINSFORD
Postcode
CW7 1AH
Postcode Area
Crewe
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD6 Cheshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD63 Cheshire West and Chester
Delivery Location
TLD North West (England)
Local Authority
Cheshire West and Chester
Electoral Ward
Winsford Dene
Westminster Constituency
Mid Cheshire

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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