Financial and insurance services

Tender description

The purpose of this procurement exercise is to appoint a single provider to deliver an independent investment and corporate finance advisory service in relation to a portfolio of venture capital investments (including a small element of debt funding) in SMEs based in the North East of England. The successful bidder will be responsible for maximising the financial returns from an existing investment portfolio by engaging with management teams to develop realisation strategies, negotiating with interested parties and advising the Board of NEF Holdco on suitable assets for disposal. The contracting authority for this tender is North East Finance (Holdco) Ltd (‘NEF Holdco’). NEF Holdco is the holding fund manager for the Finance for Business North East Fund (‘FBNE’). During its active investment phase between 2010 and 2016, some 160 000 000 GBP was invested in 900 SME businesses in the North East of England. The investment programme was funded in part by a loan from the European Investment Bank ('EIB'), in part by grant funding provided through the European Structural Funds (ESIF) programme and in part through HM Government funding streams. The FBNE Fund was delivered through 7 ‘sub-funds’, each managed by an independent, regulated fund management company. The contract is only concerned with 3 of the 7 sub-funds. The portfolios in question are: — the North East Technology Fund, — the North East Angel Fund, — the North East Growth Plus Fund. The contract is for an initial term of 2 years commencing in Q1 2020 but may be extendable to 3 years on the same terms. Thereafter, depending on need and on progress with the realisation of the portfolio, there may be an option to extend by a further one to 2 years. The contract will be delivered as an investment advisory service rather than through a limited partnership structure. Decisions on disposals or realisations of the assets will be reserved to the Board of NEF Holdco or the relevant subsidiary entity, rather than a fund manager being given discretion over investment decisions. NEF Holdco may bring a number of residual investments from other sub-funds into the portfolio after the initial 2 years.