---
title: "ES RDE 069 - Private finance for peat: focused assessment of investment readines"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06f0a2"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f0a2"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f0a2.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f0a2.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS"
published: "2026-09-02"
---

# ES RDE 069 - Private finance for peat: focused assessment of investment readines

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06f0a2

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## Summary

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs commissioned targeted research and consultancy on private finance for peat. The work supports future policy development and prioritisation by examining the investment readiness of two priority areas in depth and helping Defra interpret the implications. It is deliberately focused rather than a comprehensive assessment of all peat finance opportunities. The requirement is for research and development services and related consultancy services, classified under CPV 73000000. Defra is the central government buyer. The contracting process has one completed lot, covering the full requirement. The work is associated with Defra’s environmental policy and finance priorities, making it relevant to consultancies with expertise in peatland, nature finance, investment readiness, environmental markets or evidence-led public policy.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to Efeca. The award date was 27 August 2026, and the contract was signed on that date. The active contract runs from 1 September 2026 to 12 March 2027. Its value is £114,320 excluding VAT and £137,184 including VAT. This is a below-threshold award under a framework, using a selective procedure and a Defra self-service direct award; the process was not competitive. There was one lot, which is complete. The awarded supplier is Efeca, a Bournemouth-based SME. The procurement used the legal basis of the Procurement Act 2023. The outcome indicates that Defra selected a specialist framework supplier for a focused analytical assignment rather than running an open competition for individual bids.

For suppliers that did not win this procurement, the requirement demonstrates demand for specialist evidence and consultancy on financing peatland-related activity. A credible competitor for comparable work would need to combine strong peatland or environmental policy knowledge with experience of private finance, investment readiness and the analysis of priority opportunities. It would also need to turn detailed research into clear advice that a central government department can use for policy development and prioritisation. Experience interpreting the implications of finance models, environmental markets or investment barriers would be relevant, alongside the capacity to deliver a focused assessment of selected areas rather than a broad, unfocused review. The award to an SME through a framework also indicates that a smaller specialist consultancy with suitable public-sector delivery experience can meet this type of requirement.

## Notice

Defra Self-Service Direct Award. Defra requires targeted evidence to support future policy development and prioritisation. The intention of this project is not to provide a comprehensive assessment of all peat finance opportunities, but to undertake in-depth analysis of two priority areas and help Defra interpret the implications for future policy development.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083184-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - award under framework |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 2 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Sep 2026 - 12 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £114,320 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 4DF |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Efeca |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 2 Sep 2026 at 16:12 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083184-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083184-2026
  2nd September 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages/ocds-h6vhtk-04ef64
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-06f0a2. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f0a2.json.