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 and addresses
             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.3) Communication
      The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Manchester:-Accounting-services./3S4BS97766
      Additional information can be obtained from: the abovementioned address
      Tenders or requests to participate must be sent electronically via https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Manchester:-Accounting-services./565EGV5477 to the abovementioned address       
      Electronic communication requires the use of tools and devices that are not generally available. Unrestricted and full direct access to these tools and devices is possible, free of charge, at: Not provided
      I.4) Type of the contracting authority
            Body governed by public law
      I.5) Main activity
            Recreation, culture and religion

Section II: Object
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.1.5) Estimated total value:
      Value excluding VAT: 200,000       
      Currency: GBP
      II.1.6) Information about lots:
      This contract is divided into lots: Yes       
      Tenders may be submitted for: All lots
      Maximum number of lots that may be awarded to one tenderer: 1
      The contracting authority reserves the right to award contracts combining the following lots or groups of lots: Not provided

II.2) Description
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 codes:
      79212500 - Accounting review services.
      
      II.2.3) Place of performance:
      UK UNITED KINGDOM
      
      II.2.4) Description of 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:
            Criteria below
            Quality criterion - Name: Quality Technical / Weighting: 90
                        
            Cost criterion - Name: Commercial / Weighting: 10
                              
      II.2.6) Estimated value:
      Value excluding VAT: Not provided       
      Currency: Not provided       
      II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system:
      Start: 17/02/2025 / End: 16/02/2027       
      This contract is subject to renewal: Yes       
      Description of renewals: 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 16th February 2029.
      
      II.2.10) Information about variants:
      Variants will be accepted: No
      II.2.11) Information about options:
      Options:       Yes             
      Description of 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 16th February 2029.
      II.2.12) Information about electronic catalogues:
      Tenders must be presented in the form of electronic catalogues or include an electronic catalogue: No
      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds:
      The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No       
      Identification of the project: Not provided             
      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 codes:
      79212500 - Accounting review services.
      
      II.2.3) Place of performance:
      UK UNITED KINGDOM
      
      II.2.4) Description of 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:
            Criteria below
            Quality criterion - Name: Quality Technical / Weighting: 90
                        
            Cost criterion - Name: Commercial / Weighting: 10
                              
      II.2.6) Estimated value:
      Value excluding VAT: Not provided       
      Currency: Not provided       
      II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system:
      Start: 17/02/2025 / End: 16/02/2027       
      This contract is subject to renewal: Yes       
      Description of renewals: 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 16th February 2029.
      
      II.2.10) Information about variants:
      Variants will be accepted: No
      II.2.11) Information about options:
      Options:       Yes             
      Description of 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 16th February 2029.
      II.2.12) Information about electronic catalogues:
      Tenders must be presented in the form of electronic catalogues or include an electronic catalogue: No
      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds:
      The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No       
      Identification of the project: Not provided             
      II.2.14) Additional information: Not provided       


Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial And Technical Information
   III.1) Conditions for participation
      III.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
      List and brief description of conditions:          
      One individual within the bidder organisation must hold a current insolvency licence (or will do prior to contract commencement) for estimating the outcome for the lender from an insolvent borrower.    
      III.1.2) Economic and financial standing          
      Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents       
      List and brief description of selection criteria:       
      Not Provided    
      Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required (if applicable) :       
      Not Provided    
      III.1.3) Technical and professional ability    
      Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
      List and brief description of selection criteria:       
      Not Provided      
      Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required (if applicable) :          
      Not Provided   
      III.1.5) Information about reserved contracts (if applicable)   
      The contract is reserved to sheltered workshops and economic operators aiming at the social and professional integration of disabled or disadvantaged persons: No       
      The execution of the contract is restricted to the framework of sheltered employment programmes: No    
      
   III.2) Conditions related to the contract
      III.2.1) Information about a particular profession    
      Reference to the relevant law, regulation or administrative provision:          
      Not Provided    
      III.2.2) Contract performance conditions          
      Not Provided          
      III.2.3) Information about staff responsible for the performance of the contract
      Obligation to indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff assigned to performing the contract: Yes    

Section IV: Procedure
   IV.1) Description OPEN
      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    
         Framework agreement with several operators       
         Envisaged maximum number of participants to the framework agreement: 3           
         In the case of framework agreements justification for any duration exceeding 4 years: Not Provided    
   
   
   IV.1.6) Information about electronic auction:
      An electronic auction will be used: No
      Additional information about electronic auction: Not provided
   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 OJ S: Not provided       
      IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
       Date: 02/12/2024 Time: 12:00
            
      IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: English,       
      IV.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender: Not Provided      
      IV.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders:
         Date: 02/12/2024
         Time: 12:00
      

Section VI: Complementary Information
   VI.1) Information about recurrence
   This is a recurrent procurement: No    
   Estimated timing for further notices to be published: Not provided
   VI.2) Information about electronic workflows
   Electronic ordering will be used Yes       
   Electronic invoicing will be accepted Yes       
   Electronic payment will be used Yes       
   VI.3) Additional Information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Manchester:-Accounting-services./3S4BS97766

To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/3S4BS97766
   VI.4) Procedures for review
   VI.4.1) Review body:
             Royal Courts of Justice
       Strand, London, WC2A 2LL, United Kingdom
   VI.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures:
Not provided
   VI.4.3) Review procedure
   Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:    
    Not Provided    
   VI.4.4) Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained:
Not provided
   VI.5) Date Of Dispatch Of This Notice: 31/10/2024

Annex A