Award

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

Specialist Business Support Programme

East Sussex County Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

04 Sep 2026 at 09:26

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Summary of the contracting process

East Sussex County Council commissioned a Specialist Business Support Programme providing one-to-one specialist support for small and medium-sized enterprises in East Sussex. The requirement is a business development consultancy service, focused on helping SMEs through tailored individual support rather than a general business advice service. Delivery is within the county of East Sussex. The council is the public sector buyer and the programme sits within its local economic support activity. The contracted service requires a provider able to work directly with SME businesses, understand their individual development needs and deliver practical specialist support across the county. The opportunity is relevant to business support organisations, enterprise advisers, management consultants and other providers with experience of delivering structured one-to-one assistance to small and medium-sized businesses.

The procurement has been awarded and the tender is complete. East Sussex County Council used a below-threshold limited competition, with one completed lot. DIGITAL ISLANDS BUSINESS SERVICES LTD was selected as the supplier. The contract was signed on 17 August 2026 and runs from 17 August 2026 to 31 March 2027. Its value is £170,000 excluding VAT and £204,000 including VAT. The requirement was evaluated through the limited competition process; the available record does not state separate scoring criteria. The award covers business development consultancy services for the specialist support programme. The contract is active, so this outcome records an established supplier relationship rather than an invitation to submit bids. The selected supplier is a small and medium-sized enterprise based in Hove.

This award demonstrates local demand for a substantial, time-limited programme of specialist one-to-one business support for SMEs in East Sussex. A credible future competitor would need to provide experienced business advisers who can assess individual companies, tailor development support and work directly with multiple small businesses across the county. The successful supplier was itself an SME, showing that the requirement can be delivered by a focused specialist provider rather than only by a large consultancy. Relevant capability includes business development consultancy, structured advice programmes, adviser capacity and the ability to manage consistent service delivery for a public sector client. Providers with a strong understanding of SME needs and a practical local delivery model would be well placed when this buyer next requires comparable support.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Specialist Business Support Programme

Notice Description

East Sussex County Council is looking to commission the delivery of a programme of one to one specialist support for small and medium enterprises in the county.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f1df
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083737-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - limited competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79411100 - Business development consultancy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£170,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
4 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
17 Aug 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
East Sussex 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
LEWES
Postcode
BN7 1UE
Postcode Area
Brighton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ2 Surrey, East and West Sussex
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ22 East Sussex CC
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Lewes
Electoral Ward
Lewes Priory
Westminster Constituency
Lewes

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

DIGITAL ISLANDS BUSINESS SERVICES LTD

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.

Loading OCDS record...