---
title: "Procurement of Fund Management Services for North East Mezzanine and Loan Fund"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04b046"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04b046"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04b046.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04b046.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "THE NORTH EAST FUND LIMITED"
published: "2026-03-20"
---

# Procurement of Fund Management Services for North East Mezzanine and Loan Fund

Buyer: THE NORTH EAST FUND LIMITED  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04b046

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## Summary

The procurement process initiated by The North East Fund Limited aims to appoint a fund management organisation to manage the North East Mezzanine and Loan Fund, designed to invest in SMEs within the North East of England. The fund primarily targets banking and investment services to bridge market gaps in growth finance through unsecured loans and mezzanine investments, aiming to foster regional economic growth. The tender, titled "Procurement of Fund Management Services for North East Mezzanine and Loan Fund," utilised a competitive procedure with negotiation according to Public Contracts Regulations 2015, expecting an initial fund commitment of £35 million over five years. Located in Newcastle upon Tyne, the procurement involves a potential 25-year contract through extensions, fostering a 'patient capital' approach. Key dates include an award announcement on 20 March 2026 and a submission deadline on 22 November 2024.

This tender represents significant opportunities for authorised fund management organisations specialising in SME investment, particularly those adept in banking, corporate finance, and venture capital services. Businesses capable of bridging debt and equity investments will find growth prospects by supporting local SMEs aiming for organic and scalable growth. As the fund facilitates long-term investment strategies, including smaller loans of £70k on average and equity stakes in high-potentials, companies with experience in navigating complex investment landscapes will benefit. Attracting and securing the partnership with The North East Fund could provide businesses with access to substantial investment capital and a platform to contribute to regional economic development in the North East of England.

## Notice

The North East Fund seeks to appoint a professional, FCA authorised fund management organisation to deliver an SME investment fund which will make predominantly debt-based investments in revenue-generating SMEs based in the North East of England. The fund will address the persistent market gap in the provision of relatively small amounts of growth finance for SMEs in the North East of England, including unsecured loans and mezzanine / quasi-equity investment. In so doing, it will help to unlock regional growth, build confidence in the SME business base and ensure the region is a great place to start-up and scale-up a business. The Fund has the working title of "Later Stage / Mezzanine Fund" but its final name will be agreed with the appointed fund manager. TNEFL expects to make an initial commitment of investment capital to the Fund of PS35m, which will be invested over an Initial Investment Period of c.5 years - equating to an average annual investment by the Fund of PS7m during its first five years of operation. This quantum of investment, and the Fund's investment policy is consistent with and will address the funding gaps identified by a market evaluation exercise which was undertaken during the first half of 2024. In a significant development compared to previous regional investment funds, the profile of this Fund has been developed with a view to facilitating a more 'patient capital' approach to investment - by making provision for the initial 5 year investment period to be followed by further periods of new (and follow-on) investments which can potentially extend to a further 10 years. This period of up to 15 years in which the Fund can make both new and portfolio investments will be followed by a Realisation Period of up to 10 years, giving a potential contract duration of 25 years in total. This will enable the manager to provide support over a longer period than previous funds, which should be beneficial for the Fund's investee companies and should also help to maximise the financial returns to the Fund, particularly in relation to mezzanine or quasi-equity investments as it will allow for a longer holding period of share options or warrants, which should give a greater prospect of achieving additional upside liquidity from those instruments. Although the fund is required to be deployed predominantly via amortizing debt instruments (which must comprise 80% of the Fund's investment by value), it also has the scope to take equity positions where appropriate in companies with high growth potential and thereby to target a good number of potential high-cash-multiple / equity returns. The Fund is also required to complete a number of smaller loans, of an average value of PS70k. This will enable the Fund to help those SMEs which are seeking to achieve more modest organic growth and are not suited to equity investment but which require a loan (perhaps with a short capital repayment holiday) to help them take-on new contracts and bridge the gap between delivering them and receiving payment from new customers. The Fund's returns, and potentially other sources of capital which may be available to TNEFL (for example, from the regional legacy funds overseen by NEA2F) will be used to facilitate the extension of the Fund's investment activity after the initial investment capital commitment of PS35m is fully invested.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The procurement process was conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended), using the Competitive Procedure with Negotiation as detailed in Regulation 29 of those Regulations. The Purpose of the procurement was to procure the services of a single FCA regulated fund manager. The contract has an initial duration of 10 years but can be extended by up to a further 15 years, to 25 years in total. The contract value stated in this Contract Award Notice is based on the initial 10 year period and the actual amount paid during that period may vary depending on the overall quantum of capital ultimately committed to the fund and on the profile of exits from, repayments by and impairments to, portfolio companies.

Options: The contract can potentially last for 25 years, based on its being extended during its term, which will initially be for 10 years but - subject to performance, market demand and availability of capital - is expected to be extended by at least 10 years, on the basis set out in the Information Memorandum and draft contract documents.

Renewal: The contract can potentially last for 25 years, based on its being extended during its term, which will initially be for 10 years but - subject to performance, market demand and availability of capital - is expected to be extended by at least 10 years, on the basis set out in the Information Memorandum and draft contract documents.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025752-2026 |
| Notice type | Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Competitive procedure with negotiation |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 20 Mar 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 22 Nov 2024 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 14 Oct 2025 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £16,700,000 |
| Lots value | £16,700,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £4,122,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | THE NORTH EAST FUND LIMITED |
| Locality | NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE |
| Post town | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Postcode | NE1 3PA |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLC North East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear |
| ITL 3 | TLC43 Tyneside |
| Local authority | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Electoral ward | Monument |
| Westminster constituency | Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West |
| Delivery location | TLC North East (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | FW CAPITAL |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 66 - Financial and insurance services

### Codes

- 66100000 - Banking and investment services
- 66122000 - Corporate finance and venture capital services

## Release History

- 20 Mar 2026 at 12:52 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025752-2026
- 22 Oct 2024 at 15:11 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034209-2024

## Notice URLs

- http://www.northeastfund.org
- https://www.northeastfund.org/business-guidance-support/

## 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-h6vhtk-04b046. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04b046.json.