Financial consultancy services

Tender description

Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) is looking to establish a 10 million GBP housing investment fund for the benefit of SME developers (developers operating in the order of c.100 units) in the South East Wales region (the Fund). Cardiff Council is seeking to procure a FCA accredited fund manager/advisor on behalf of CCR to provide certain services and to manage the capital allocated under the Fund (the Opportunity). The purpose of this PIN is to obtain market feedback on Cardiff Council's proposals for the opportunity and the procurement strategy. In particular, Cardiff Council wants to understand the market's appetite to participate in a procurement process for the opportunity and its ability to mobilise and commit resources to participate in such process. CCR has issued a market engagement briefing paper alongside this PIN which outlines the fund and the opportunity and a number of key questions on which CCR would like written feedback from the market by no later than 17.00 on 8 July 2020. Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) City Deal is a 1.1 bn GBP economic growth programme which was agreed in 2016 between UK Government, Welsh Government and ten local authorities in South East Wales (the ‘Region’) to bring about significant economic growth in the Region through investment, upskilling and improved physical and digital connectivity. The CCR local authorities are: Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff Council, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Torfaen and Vale of Glamorgan. Work undertaken to date has demonstrated to CCR that a key challenge in the Region's housing market is the requirement for vital financing support for smaller and medium sized developers (developers who are operating in the order of c.100 units or less) (‘SME’) that play a valuable role in local house-building for relatively small housing schemes that fall outside of the mainstream developers' line of sight. To address this, CCR is seeking to establish a 10 million investment sub-fund to target the substantial number of SME controlled smaller sites in the Region and provide finance support to SME developers who are unable to proceed with developments due to a lack of available funding support, particularly for the required upfront costs in the delivery cycle (the ‘SME Housing Fund’). Further details of the SME Housing Fund are included in the market engagement briefing paper issued alongside this PIN. CCR is seeking to commission an FCA accredited fund manager/adviser to, amongst other matters, help market the SME Housing Fund, source a pipeline of projects, undertake due diligence on applicants and manage the capital allocated under the SME Housing Fund on CCR's behalf. As CCR is not itself a corporate vehicle, it anticipates that Cardiff Council shall procure and enter into a services contract for fund management services in respect of the SME Housing Fund on behalf of CCR (the ‘Opportunity’). The duration of the services contract is to be determined. It is anticipated the fund manager/adviser shall perform the following services: (a) advice upon and finalisation of the investment criteria and strategy for the SME Housing Fund; (b) market and promote the SME Housing Fund to suitable prospective applicants; (c) secure a pipeline of applicants for the SME Housing Fund; (d) review applications received for the SME Housing Fund, conduct due diligence on a applicant's suitability for and alignment to the SME Housing Fund based on the investment criteria/strategy set; (e) make recommendations to CCR's investment board in respect of suitable applicants to the SME Housing Fund; (f) ongoing monitoring, scrutiny and management of investment products provided to successful applicants under the SME Housing Fund; (g) advising CCR's investment board in respect of any potential or actual risks arising in respect of certain investments made under the SME Housing Fund and how these may be best managed/mitigated; and (h) fulfil the role of a FCA accredited fund manager in respect of the SME Housing Fund. Cardiff Council envisages the procurement process for the Opportunity will be a restrictive procedure. Cardiff Council has issued this PIN and the market engagement briefing paper for the purposes of gaining feedback from the market in relation to the SME Housing Fund and Cardiff Council's proposals for the opportunity and procurement strategy. This is an exercise of genuine information gathering and CCR/Cardiff Council intends to reflect on any feedback given by the market with a view to refining or recalibrating CCR's/Cardiff Council's proposed approach ahead of launch of the procurement process. Cardiff Council would therefore be grateful if prospective tenderers for the Project could review the market engagement briefing paper and provide feedback in writing to Cardiff Council by no later than 17.00 on 8 July 2020 via the Proactis procurement portal available at https://supplierlive.proactisp2p.com using RFX reference ERFX1006830.