The Arts Council of England: ACE 614 ITT - Framework Of Financial Advisors For Arts And Culture Repayable Finance

UK-Manchester: Accounting services.

Section I: Contracting Authority

   I.1) Name, Addresses and Contact Point(s):
       Arts Council England
       The Hive, 49 Lever Street, Manchester, M1 1FN, United Kingdom
       Tel. +44 1619344317, Email: procurement.services@artscouncil.org.uk
       Main Address: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/supplying-arts-council
       NUTS Code: UK

   I.2) Joint procurement:
      The contract involves joint procurement: No          
      In the case of joint procurement involving different countries, state applicable national procurement law: Not Provided
      The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body: No

   I.4)Type of the contracting authority:
      Body governed by public law

   I.5) Main activity:
      Recreation, culture and religion

Section II: Object Of The Contract

   II.1) Scope of the procurement

      II.1.1) Title: ACE 614 ITT - Framework Of Financial Advisors For Arts And Culture Repayable Finance            
      Reference number: ACE 614 ITT

      II.1.2) Main CPV code:
         79211000 - Accounting services.


      II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES

      II.1.4) Short description: Arts Council England are conducting a Procurement for a Framework of Financial Advisors to support with the administration of the Cultural Recovery Fund loans programme.

As part of the government’s response to the Covid 19 crisis, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) made 37 loans to arts and culture organisations, investing £250 million. DCMS are the Lender for the loans, and Arts Council acts as their loan agent. A dedicated repayable finance team manages the day-to-day responsibility of the loan book management, monitoring, and reporting. From time to time, ACE requires an independent and impartial review of a borrower organisation and its financial model to support our decisions regarding their loans - referred to as Financial Advisors.

      II.1.6) Information about lots
         This contract is divided into lots: Yes
            
      II.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
          Value: 166,666.67
                  
         Currency:GBP            

   II.2) Description (lot no. 1)
   

      II.2.1) Title:Lot 1: will cover Level 1 borrower organisations (typically small to medium sized arts and culture organisations, with a turnover of roughly under £15 million)   
      Lot No:1

      II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s):
            79212500 - Accounting review services.


      II.2.3) Place of performance
      Nuts code:
      UK - UNITED KINGDOM
   
      Main site or place of performance:
      UNITED KINGDOM
             

      II.2.4) Description of the procurement: Lot 1: will cover Level 1 borrower organisations (typically small to medium sized arts and culture organisations, with a turnover of roughly under £15 million). Other factors such as: the nature of the lender’s (DCMS) security documentation, structure of the borrower organisation, and any other debt belonging to the borrower organisation, will all affect the complexity of the review, and classification of borrower organisations into the lots by the project team.

      II.2.5) Award criteria:
      Quality criterion - Name: Quality Technical / Weighting: 90
                  
      Cost criterion - Name: Commercial / Weighting: 10
            

      II.2.11) Information about options
         Options: Yes
         Description of these options:Subject to funding and budget approval, ACE may extend the contract by 2 periods of up to 12 months each, therefore the maximum contract end date is 23rd February 2029.

      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
         The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
         

      II.2.14) Additional information: To respond to this opportunity please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/565EGV5477

   II.2) Description (lot no. 2)
   

      II.2.1) Title:Lot 2: will cover Level 2 borrower organisations (typically large arts and culture organisations, with a turnover of roughly £15 million or above)   
      Lot No:Lot 2

      II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s):
            79212500 - Accounting review services.


      II.2.3) Place of performance
      Nuts code:
      UK - UNITED KINGDOM
   
      Main site or place of performance:
      UNITED KINGDOM
             

      II.2.4) Description of the procurement: Lot 2: will cover Level 2 borrower organisations (typically large arts and culture organisations, with a turnover of roughly £15 million or above). Other factors such as: the nature of the lender’s (DCMS) security documentation, structure of the borrower organisation, and any other debt belonging to the borrower organisation, will all affect the complexity of the review, and classification of borrower organisations into the lots by the project team.

      II.2.5) Award criteria:
      Quality criterion - Name: Quality Technical / Weighting: 90
                  
      Cost criterion - Name: Commercial / Weighting: 10
            

      II.2.11) Information about options
         Options: Yes
         Description of these options:Subject to funding and budget approval, ACE may extend the contract by 2 periods of up to 12 months each, therefore the maximum contract end date is 23rd February 2029.

      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
         The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
         

      II.2.14) Additional information: Not Provided


Section IV: Procedure

IV.1) Description

   IV.1.1)Type of procedure: Open


   IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
      The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement: Yes       
      

   IV.1.6) Information about electronic auction
      An electronic auction has been used: No

   IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
      The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

IV.2) Administrative information

   IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
       Notice number in the OJEU: 2024/S 000-035401
      
   

   IV.2.9) Information about termination of call for competition in the form of a prior information notice
      The contracting authority will not award any further contracts based on the above prior information notice: No

Section V: Award of contract

Award Of Contract (No.1)

   Contract No: Not Provided    
   Lot Number: Not Provided    
   Title: ACE 614 ITT - Framework Of Financial Advisors For Arts And Culture Repayable Finance

   A contract/lot is awarded: Yes


   V.2) Award of contract

      V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract: 20/02/2025

      V.2.2) Information about tenders
         Number of tenders received: 2
         Number of tenders received from SMEs: 2 (SME - as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC)          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: 0          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 0          
         Number of tenders received by electronic means: 2

      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor

      The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
         
         Contractor (No.1)
             Festivals and Events International Ltd, 06434297
             International House, 36-38 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3NG, United Kingdom
             NUTS Code: UK
            The contractor is an SME: Yes

      V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
         Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: 166,666.67          
         Total value of the contract/lot: 166,666.67
         Currency: GBP

      V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
         The contract is likely to be subcontracted: Yes
                  Value or proportion likely to be subcontracted to third parties:
                  
                  Proportion: 5%                   
         Short description of the part of the contract to be subcontracted:
          Insolvency practitioner if required - Begbies Traynor Group Plc (company reg 05120043)          
Section VI: Complementary information

   VI.3) Additional information: To view this notice, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=931466015
   VI.4) Procedures for review

      VI.4.1) Review body
          Royal Courts of Justice
          Strand, London, WC2A 2LL, United Kingdom

      VI.4.3) Review procedure
         Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures: Not Provided

      VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
         Not Provided

   VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice: 05/03/2025