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DBT Business Support Service

Department for Business and Trade

This public procurement record has 6 releases in its history.

Planning

05 Aug 2026 at 16:03

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

05 Aug 2026 at 15:53

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
PlanningUpdate

31 Jul 2026 at 14:27

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Planning

27 Jul 2026 at 16:27

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
PlanningUpdate

01 Jul 2026 at 14:11

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Planning

30 Jun 2026 at 16:43

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Business and Trade plans to procure an integrated Business Support Service for businesses, charities and social enterprises in England, including pre-start-ups and start-ups. The service will supplement guidance on GOV.UK and business.gov.uk as part of the Department’s Business Growth Service. It will provide information, advice, guidance and signposting on any business issue, through telephone, webchat, email, social media and instant messaging such as WhatsApp. The scope also includes a database of business information for advisers and selected external organisations, an emergency response plan that can be activated at 24 hours’ notice, and partnership management across the business support ecosystem. The supplier will not need to provide a digital front end or website, but must integrate with related government delivery. Work will be delivered across England.

This is a planned procurement at the pre-tender stage, with preliminary market engagement intended to help develop the requirements and tender documents. The anticipated route is an accelerated, two-stage Competitive Flexible Procedure: conditions of participation followed by tender evaluation. The planned contract is one lot and is above threshold. Its initial term is expected to run from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029, with renewal options extending the maximum period to 31 March 2031. The initial value is £5 million; the published total estimated value is £8,333,333.33 excluding VAT and £10 million including VAT, with extensions subject to budget approval. The buyer expects a further notice on 15 October 2026 and an expression-of-interest deadline of 6 November 2026. Market engagement is planned for 26 August 2026, following expressions of interest by 19 August 2026.

The service is likely to suit SMEs, voluntary, community and social enterprises, as well as larger organisations with established customer-support operations. Relevant suppliers will need proven capability to deliver joined-up advice and signposting across multiple channels, including telephone, webchat, email, social media and instant messaging. They should be able to maintain a reliable information database for advisers and external users, manage relationships across a broad business-support network, and mobilise an emergency response within 24 hours. Experience supporting diverse businesses, charities, social enterprises, pre-start-ups and start-ups will be relevant. The requirement also favours suppliers able to work alongside government digital services without owning the website or digital front end. The market engagement will explore capability, capacity, delivery models, innovation, best practice and routes to increase SME participation.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

DBT Business Support Service

Notice Description

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) wish to give notice of a planned procurement opportunity in relation to delivery of the Business Support Service (BSS). The service will supplement guidance available on gov.uk and business.gov.uk. and is a key part of DBT's Business Growth Service. The BSS should provide information, advice, guidance, and signposting on any business issue for any kind of business, charity or social enterprise, including pre-startups and start-ups, in England. The contract is structured as a two-year offer with the option to extend for up to two further one-year periods (2+1+1). The initial contract value is PS5 million. Any future extensions are subject to budget approval. Secretary of State for Business and Trade will in due course be transferred to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade by an Order in Council (secondary legislation) under section 2 of the Ministers of the Crown Act 1975. Scope of the requirement: The proposed procurement will seek a supplier to provide integrated business support including: Multi- channel access through telephone, webchat, email, social media, and instant messenger (such as WhatsApp) A database of business information for use by advisers and some external organisations The ability to stand up an emergency response plan with 24 hours' notice from DBT Maintaining partnerships and relationships across the business support eco-system There is no requirement to deliver a digital front-end or website, however, the successful supplier will need to be flexible and able to contribute to, or integrate with, any similar delivery undertaken by government. Proposed Procurement Route: It is currently anticipated that the procurement will be conducted using a Competitive Flexible Procedure comprising Stage 1 - Conditions of Participation and Stage 2 - Tender Evaluation.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: This is to give DBT the ability to retain flexibility in issuing extensions at the end of the current spending review (SR) period. It is possible that the next SR period (2029/2030) may only be for 1 year.

Planning Information

The purpose of this engagement notice is to invite suppliers to participate in preliminary market engagement with a view to developing the authority's requirements and preparing tender documents. Please email BuyingResearch@businessandtrade.gov.uk to express interest in taking part in this market engagement process by 19th August 2026. We will then be in contact to arrange the next steps. Preliminary market engagement will be conducted via a Teams call at 11:00-12:30 on 26th August 2026. Purpose of Market Engagement: The Department wishes to engage with potential suppliers to: Test the feasibility of the proposed service model. Understand market capability and capacity. Inform the development of Conditions of Participation and tender requirements. Explore delivery and commercial model options. Identify opportunities to promote competition and SME participation. Understand innovation and best practice within the market. The Department is also considering piloting an additional component of the Business Support Service which supports businesses wishing to specifically trade in Northern Ireland under the Windsor framework agreement: The feasibility of the model and identify delivery options and challenges. This engagement does not form part of any procurement process and will not be used to formally assess suppliers.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c09b
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/074344-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
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

79900000 - Miscellaneous business and business-related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£8,333,333 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£8,333,333 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
5 Aug 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
15 Oct 20265 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Apr 2027 - 31 Mar 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Department for Business and Trade
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1A 2DY
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

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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