---
title: "Specialist Business Support Programme"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06f1df"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f1df"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f1df.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f1df.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "East Sussex County Council"
published: "2026-09-04"
---

# Specialist Business Support Programme

Buyer: East Sussex County Council  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06f1df

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## Summary

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.

## Notice

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.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083737-2026 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 4 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 17 Aug 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £170,000 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | East Sussex County Council |
| Locality | LEWES |
| Postcode area | Brighton |
| Postcode | BN7 1UE |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ2 Surrey, East and West Sussex |
| ITL 3 | TLJ22 East Sussex CC |
| Local authority | Lewes |
| Electoral ward | Lewes Priory |
| Westminster constituency | Lewes |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | DIGITAL ISLANDS BUSINESS SERVICES LTD |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 79411100 - Business development consultancy services

## Release History

- 4 Sep 2026 at 09:26 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083737-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083737-2026
  4th September 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://digitalislands.co.uk/
- https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/
- 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-06f1df. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f1df.json.