Consultancy Business Support: Buisness Planning for Growth and Investment, Tender for ERDF X03120PR

In order to support the delivery of the High Growth Centre ERDF project, the High Growth Centre at Thornton Science Park, University of Chester wishes to commission consultancy services to deliver business support in business planning for growth and investment to leaders and managers in existing or pre start high growth businesses in the advanced manufacturing, engineering, environment and automotive sectors, as part of an ERDF project, to be delivered by 30th June 2015.

The support is required to take the form of 1:1 business support consultancy rather than courses. We have a particular need to target new (pre start) businesses therefore consultants should demonstrate they have ability to tailor activity to this client group.

The appointed consultant/s will be required to provide Business Planning for Growth and Investment consultancy services that should include the following areas:  Business plan review and analysis of previous funding and investment bids (common themes).  Review of bid/proposal concepts and business alignment with funding opportunities.  Review of relevant funding opportunities across UK & EU with guidance on what is available now, what is forthcoming; and how best to respond to opportunities.  Preparing for and managing the Due Diligence process  Consideration of implementation and management aspects including risks and opportunities.  Identification and support with collaborative opportunities and where appropriate introduction to investor opportunities.

Additional information: Tenderers are requested to note that the project is in receipt of matched ERDF grant funding to support the delivery of the programme and is therefore working to a limited budget.

As a guide the maximum budget allowed for this activity is up to £30,000. However, this depends on contracted hours agreed between the appointed consultant/s and the University of Chester. For this reason, the overall contract value may be significantly lower.

The tender simply sets a maximum spend for the support pot from which you will specify how many hours you are willing to commit. The level of work cannot be guaranteed.

Actual demand and volumes may vary, as over the period of the contract term, the demand from start-ups and SMEs may reduce from the total hours specified. For this reason, whilst the appointed provider/s will be awarded the contract for the duration of this contract term, no guarantee can therefore be given regarding the volume, nor value, of business placed. The appointed provider/s may therefore be required to supply requirements, below, or in addition to, what has been initially specified, within this tender.

Requirements for consultancy hours, contract values and timescales for contract start and end dates may therefore be subject to change.

Full details and award criteria are as stated within the tender documents.

To apply and to participate in this tender opportunity, all applicants must register on the "in-tend" e-tendering portal to access the tender documents. Please note that where you may have previously registered with In-Tend, please ensure that your registration does include being registered to view opportunities for the University of Chester. Registration to this site is free for suppliers. Once registered, please download the quotation documents. These must be completed and returned together with any supporting documents via the In-Tend e-tendering portal by 10.00am, Friday 1st May 2015 - www.in-tendhost.co.uk/universityofchester. There is Help/Guidance on how to use the supplier site on the ‘Help’ section of the site. Alternatively, for technical questions, In-tend Support can help suppliers and is open Monday - Friday, 8.30am - 5pm (excluding Bank Holidays) - 0845 557 8079 / 0114 407 0065 / [email protected].