---
title: "UKSBS PR18079 Business Support Helpline"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-bba56804-b072-4860-9db8-cd578e9a9878"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-bba56804-b072-4860-9db8-cd578e9a9878"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-bba56804-b072-4860-9db8-cd578e9a9878.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-bba56804-b072-4860-9db8-cd578e9a9878.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED"
published: "2023-01-11"
---

# UKSBS PR18079 Business Support Helpline

Buyer: UK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-bba56804-b072-4860-9db8-cd578e9a9878

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-bba56804-b072-4860-9db8-cd578e9a9878)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-bba56804-b072-4860-9db8-cd578e9a9878.json)

## Summary

The UK Shared Business Services Limited, acting as the buying organisation, is procuring government business support services for SMEs in England. The procurement stage is an award, with the title UKSBS PR18079 Business Support Helpline falling under the industry category of Administration services. The contract is valued at up to £8.35 million, with a contract period starting from 1st January 2020. The services are expected to be fully operational by 31st March 2020, and the contract allows for extensions up to 2024.

This tender presents an opportunity for businesses, particularly SMEs, to provide essential services to support UK businesses. Companies offering call centre, business consultancy, and customer services are well-suited to compete. The selective procurement method used means that businesses need to ensure their registration on the Crown Commercial Service's e-Sourcing Suite to participate. Key deadlines include the tender period ending on 29th July 2019. The awarded contract provides a solid revenue stream for the successful bidder, UMi Commercial Ltd, to grow their business and contribute to the UK's business support ecosystem.

## Notice

**Please note this is an award notice, not a call for competition** *Final date and time to submit RFI response was Monday 29th July 2019 at 14:00 DO NOT apply directly to the buyer All tender information MUST be submitted via CCS eSourcing Portal.* The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is seeking to procure government business support services for primarily Small to Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) in England: A Business Support Helpline; A database (Knowledge Bank) of business support schemes and advice in England; an Emergency Response Service capability. The Authority holds a contract delivering the proposed services. It is envisaged that the existing services will migrate to the new contract. The Helpline forms a key part of the government's offer to SMEs, providing trusted information and sign-posting businesses to relevant support, to help businesses to start, grow and thrive. It provides a channel for government to communicate with business, for example in the run up to EU exit. It also offers emergency response capacity. The service must be designed with flexibility to accommodate any changes required to reflect changes in policy. The service must be able to flex capacity responsively to meet peaks in demand. The service must be available and relevant to all entrepreneurs in England, including pre-start, start-up and existing businesses. The service must provide capacity for at least 50,000 inbound contacts and at least 10,000 outbound in-depth business support calls per annum. The Authority will look to increase annual contact rates above 2018 rates. The service must maintain the Knowledge Bank, and the content of the Business Support Finder Tool on GOV.UK. Contract award is anticipated to take place in early December 2019. The services must be fully operational by 31st March 2020. The initial Contract term is 27 months commencing 1 January 2020 (including 3 month mobilisation period). The contract will be subject to a three-month notice period at any time. The estimated total contract value is anticipated to be up to PS8.35 million. The contract value for Mobilisation period and the two-year contract (up to PS2 million per annum excluding mobilisation costs) is estimated at PS4.35m. There will be an option to extend the contract for up to two further years to 2024 on an annual basis (up to PS2m per annum; subject to additional spend approval). There is an option to increase the contract value proportionately in line with demand as set out in the review clause within the contract documents, in the event of significant unanticipated additional demand resulting for example from economic shocks or changes in relationships with our international trading partners. Mobilisation costs are subject to a PS350k limit. *Please disregard any content in this notice that requests your organisation 'to apply directly to the buyer' as unfortunately this is a system generated error outside of the Contracting Authority's control Additional information: **Please note that this is an Award Notice and is not a call for a competition** 1. This procurement will be managed electronically via the Crown Commercial Service's e-Sourcing Suite. To participate in this procurement, participants shall first be registered on the e-Sourcing Suite. 2. If Bidders have not yet registered on the e-Sourcing Suite, this can be done online at https:// gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/emptoris by following the link "Supplier e-Sourcing Registration". Please note that, to register, Bidders must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun & Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so. Note: registration may take some time please ensure that you allow a sufficient amount of time to register. Full instructions for registration and use of the system can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esourcing-tool- guidance-for-suppliers 3. Once you have registered on the e-Sourcing Suite, a registered user can express an interest for a specific procurement. This is done by emailing ExpressionOfInterest@crowncommercial.gov.uk . Your email must clearly state: the name and reference for the procurement you wish to register for; your organisation's full name as a registered supplier; the name and contact details for the registered individual sending the email. Crown Commercial Service (CCS) will process the email and then enable the Bidder to access the procurement online via the e-Sourcing Suite. 4. The registered user will receive a notification email to alert them once this has been done. 5. As a user of the e-Sourcing Suite you will have access to Emptoris email messaging service which facilitates all messages sent to you and from you in relation to any specific RFX event. Please note it is your responsibility to access these emails on a regular basis to ensure you have sight of all relevant information applicable to this opportunity. 6. For technical assistance on use of the e-Sourcing Suite please contact Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Helpdesk (Not UK SBS Ltd): freephone: 0345 410 2222 and email: eenablement@crowncommercial.gov.uk .Training support to respond to a requirement is available to bidders at http://www.uksbs.co.uk/services/procure/Pages/supplier.aspx The Contracting Authority(CA) will continue to utilise the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) for this procurement if the United Kingdom (UK) is able to gain access to the OJEU. If, however during this procurement process the UK exits the EU and this does not allow for any transitional arrangements of access aligned to the timings of the procurement, the Contracting Authority will as directed by the UK Governments Cabinet Office (via Crown Commercial Services) utilise the UK Governments own procurement portal to discharge the balance of its statutory obligations associated with this procurement.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/f42c9ee5-589d-4ca4-a927-cb8a82d0ecd2 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Restricted procedure (above threshold) |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 11 Jan 2023 |
| Submission deadline | 29 Jul 2019 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 23 Dec 2019 |
| Contract period | 1 Jan 2020 - 31 Mar 2022 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £8,350,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £3,684,769 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UK SHARED BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED |
| Locality | SWINDON |
| Post town | Swindon |
| Postcode | SN2 1FF |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire |
| ITL 3 | TLK71 Swindon |
| Local authority | Swindon |
| Electoral ward | Rodbourne Cheney |
| Westminster constituency | Swindon North |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | UMI COMMERCIAL |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 75 - Administration, defence and social security services
- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 75100000 - Administration services
- 79342300 - Customer services
- 79400000 - Business and management consultancy and related services
- 79512000 - Call centre
- 79900000 - Miscellaneous business and business-related services

## Release History

- 11 Jan 2023 at 17:35 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/f42c9ee5-589d-4ca4-a927-cb8a82d0ecd2
- 24 Jun 2019 at 12:56 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/3f328068-b002-4081-8cb7-2584be8cab2f

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/f42c9ee5-589d-4ca4-a927-cb8a82d0ecd2
  11th January 2023 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/3f328068-b002-4081-8cb7-2584be8cab2f
  24th June 2019 - Opportunity notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/aedd30a3-575e-40fe-a5ec-6fa98d7d34f5
  Bidder - Logging into Emptoris for the first time
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/a1727e55-640d-42f7-a0be-4c251ad32d7f
  Bidder Training
- https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
  CCS Emptoris eSourcing portal

## Notice URLs

- http://www.uksbs.co.uk/services/procure/Pages/supplier.aspx
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esourcing-tool-

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-bba56804-b072-4860-9db8-cd578e9a9878. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-bba56804-b072-4860-9db8-cd578e9a9878.json.