---
title: "Ambitious Essex Enhanced Growth Hub"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0588ec"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0588ec"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0588ec.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0588ec.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL"
published: "2026-03-05"
---

# Ambitious Essex Enhanced Growth Hub

Buyer: ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0588ec

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0588ec)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0588ec.json)

## Summary

Essex County Council has awarded the contract for the Ambitious Essex Enhanced Growth Hub, a service aimed at supporting businesses in Essex starting in April 2026. This initiative seeks to foster growth and prosperity within Essex's large and diverse SME base by providing advice, access to business finance, and inclusive economic growth opportunities across key sectors. The procurement process was conducted using an open procedure and focused on service delivery in financial, insurance, and business services within the Chelmsford area. The contract, with a gross value of £1,368,000, was signed on 4th March 2026 and extends until 31st March 2029. Smarter Society Limited, an SME from London, is the supplier appointed to deliver these services.

This tender creates opportunities for SMEs specialising in financial, insurance, and business consulting services. Businesses with expertise in law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, and related areas could greatly benefit from engaging with this contract, as it offers a platform to showcase skills and contribute to local economic growth. Organisations with a commitment to delivering impactful business support services and innovation in the face of economic challenges will be well-suited for such opportunities, helping Essex businesses to grow sustainably while fostering skills and capabilities within the region.

## Notice

Essex County Council (ECC) have awarded the Ambitious Essex Enhanced Growth Hub, due to begin service April 2026. The service, working closely with the Government funded Growth Hub, will help provide the front door for businesses seeking advice and support in the County, enabling them to have the knowledge necessary to achieve growth and prosperity as well as access to business finance. This approach reflects ECC's commitment to delivering a more coherent and impactful business support ecosystem, better positioned to meet the needs of Essex's large and diverse SME base and to drive inclusive economic growth across key sectors.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Options: The Authority reserves the right at any time during the Term of this Agreement to add services that are similar and/or complementary services to the Services (Additional Services) including but not limited to provisions of support services in relation to marketing, finance and construction. See Terms and Conditions publish at tender for more details of this.

### Planning Information

Essex County Council is conducting soft market testing to inform the development of our future business support offer.
The Council currently has a business support contract in place that will expire in March 2026, alongside our nationally funded Growth Hub contract.
With changes underway in the business support landscape-including the introduction of the national Business Growth Service-we are seeking input to help shape a suitable contract and procurement process.
As part of the Council's pre-procurement work, market engagement for the development of a new countywide business support service has already conducted with businesses who may use the service, via a comprehensive survey. This survey enabled us to better understand the current challenges that businesses are facing, what they would want from a business support offer, growth prospects, business support functions, and many other metrics.
The Council would now like to hear from potential bidders. To respond to soft market testing please complete the questionnaire found here: https://forms.office.com/e/RPe5nEf3vv The deadline for responses is Friday 5th September.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020011-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 5 Mar 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 2 Feb 2026 |
| Future notice date | 5 Sep 2025 |
| Award date | 17 Feb 2026 |
| Contract period | 31 Mar 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £1,140,000 |
| Lots value | £1,140,000 |
| Awards value | £1,140,000 |
| Contracts value | £1,140,000 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL |
| Locality | CHELMSFORD |
| Post town | Chelmsford |
| Postcode | CM1 1QH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH3 Essex |
| ITL 3 | TLH36 Heart of Essex |
| Local authority | Chelmsford |
| Electoral ward | Moulsham and Central |
| Westminster constituency | Chelmsford |
| Delivery location | TLH3 Essex |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | SMARTER SOCIETY |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 66000000 - Financial and insurance services
- 79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

## Release History

- 5 Mar 2026 at 15:08 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020011-2026
- 17 Feb 2026 at 18:01 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/014538-2026
- 7 Jan 2026 at 16:58 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/001232-2026
- 15 Aug 2025 at 12:27 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/049136-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020011-2026
  5th March 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/014538-2026
  17th February 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/001232-2026
  7th January 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/049136-2025
  15th August 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://forms.office.com/e/RPe5nEf3vv
- https://procontract.due-north.com/RFx/RFxSummary?rfxId=9a6ab472-e1eb-f011-813c-005056b64545&projectId=37aeda8c-4d78-f011-813a-005056b64545
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.smartersociety.org

## 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-0588ec. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0588ec.json.