Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
Invest Northern Ireland
Bedford Square 1 Bedford Street
Belfast
BT2 7ES
UK
E-mail: info@investni.com
NUTS: UK
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Address of the buyer profile: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
I.2) Joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
General public services
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
ID 5214618 DFE - INVEST NI - FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT MARKET INTELLIGENCE TOOL AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT LOCATION BENCHMARKING TOOL
II.1.2) Main CPV code
72000000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Within Invest NI, the International Investment Division has specific responsibility for attracting and negotiating new Foreign Direct Investment for Northern Ireland. Through its network of overseas offices and contacts, Invest NI promotes the benefits of setting up in Northern Ireland. In order to ensure they have they most accurate information, the International Investment Division require access to two databases, which are being procured as part of this contract. This contract has been divided into two Lots. Lot 1, the provision of a FDI Market Intelligence Tool and Lot 2, provision of a FDI Location Benchmarking Tool. One Contractor will be awarded each lot however, there are no restrictions on the number of Lots a Tenderer can bid for or be awarded. Therefore, Tenderers may tender for one, or both Lots as they wish. Please see ID 5214618 Specification for further information.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
Yes
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
500 000.00
GBP
II.2) Description
Lot No: 1
II.2.1) Title
Lot 1 - Provision of A FDI Market Intelligence Tool
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
72260000
72316000
48100000
48220000
48610000
48600000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKN
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Within Invest NI, the International Investment Division has specific responsibility for attracting and negotiating new Foreign Direct Investment for Northern Ireland. Through its network of overseas offices and contacts, Invest NI promotes the benefits of setting up in Northern Ireland. In order to ensure they have they most accurate information, the International Investment Division require access to two databases, which are being procured as part of this contract. This contract has been divided into two Lots. Lot 1, the provision of a FDI Market Intelligence Tool and Lot 2, provision of a FDI Location Benchmarking Tool. One Contractor will be awarded each lot however, there are no restrictions on the number of Lots a Tenderer can bid for or be awarded. Therefore, Tenderers may tender for one, or both Lots as they wish. Please see ID 5214618 Specification for further information.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion: AC1 Accessibility and Range of Data
/ Weighting: 9
Quality criterion: AC2 Contingency, Escalation and Training
/ Weighting: 9
Quality criterion: AC3 Social Value
/ Weighting: 12
Cost criterion: AC4 Total Contract Price
/ Weighting: 70
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
After the initial contract period of three years, there are two options to extend the contract for up to one year on each occasion.
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Lot No: 2
II.2.1) Title
Lot 2 - Provision of a FDI Location Benchmarking Tool
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
72260000
72316000
48100000
48220000
48610000
48600000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKN
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Within Invest NI, the International Investment Division has specific responsibility for attracting and negotiating new Foreign Direct Investment for Northern Ireland. Through its network of overseas offices and contacts, Invest NI promotes the benefits of setting up in Northern Ireland. In order to ensure they have they most accurate information, the International Investment Division require access to two databases, which are being procured as part of this contract. This contract has been divided into two Lots. Lot 1, the provision of a FDI Market Intelligence Tool and Lot 2, provision of a FDI Location Benchmarking Tool. One Contractor will be awarded each lot however, there are no restrictions on the number of Lots a Tenderer can bid for or be awarded. Therefore, Tenderers may tender for one, or both Lots as they wish. Please see ID 5214618 Specification for further information.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion: AC1 Methods and Sources of Data Collection
/ Weighting: 9
Quality criterion: AC2 Contingency, Escalation and Training
/ Weighting: 9
Quality criterion: AC3 Social Value
/ Weighting: 12
Cost criterion: AC4 Total Contract Price
/ Weighting: 70
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
After the initial contract period of three years, there are two options to extend the contract for up to one year on each occasion.
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition
Justification for selected award procedure:
No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to open procedure
Explanation
As per Article 32(2)(a) where no tenders, no suitable tenders, no requests to participate or no suitable requests to participate have been submitted in response to an open procedure or a restricted procedure, provided that the initial conditions of the contract are not substantially altered and that a report is sent to the Commission where it so requests, no suitable tender was received for notice ref 2023/S 000-036287, therefore with no changes to the initial conditions of the contract Invest NI moved from open to negotiated procedure without prior publication.
IV.1.8) Information about 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:
2023/S 000-036287
Section V: Award of contract
Lot No: 1
Contract No: 1
Title: Lot 1 - Provision of A FDI Market Intelligence Tool
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
14/03/2024
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
Number of tenders received from SMEs: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from EU Member States: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 1
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITEDTHE
Bracken House, 1 Friday Street
London
EC4M 9BT
UK
Telephone: +44 2077756719
E-mail: carmel.ferris@ft.com
NUTS: UK
Internet address(es)
URL: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot:
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 250 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section V: Award of contract
Lot No: 2
Contract No: 2
Title: Lot 2 - Provision of a FDI Location Benchmarking Tool
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
14/03/2024
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
Number of tenders received from SMEs: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from EU Member States: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 1
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITEDTHE
Bracken House, 1 Friday Street
London
EC4M 9BT
UK
Telephone: +44 2077756719
E-mail: carmel.ferris@ft.com
NUTS: UK
Internet address(es)
URL: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot:
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 250 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
Contract monitoring: the successful contractor’s performance on the contract will be regularly monitored. Contractors not delivering on contract requirements is a serious matter. It means the public purse is not getting what it is paying for. If a contractor fails to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance they will be given a specified time to improve. If, after the specified time, they still fail to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance, the matter will be escalated to senior management in construction and procurement delivery (CPD) for further action. If this occurs and their performance still does not improve to satisfactory levels within the specified period, this may be considered grounds for termination of the contract at your expense as provided for in the Conditions of Contract. In lieu of termination, CPD may issue a Notice of Written Warning or a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance. A supplier in receipt of multiple Notices of Written Warning or a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance may, in accordance with The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended), be excluded from future public procurement competitions for a period of up to three years.
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
The UK does not have any such bodies with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures. Instead; any challenges are dealt with by the High Court, Commercial Division, to which proceedings may be issued regarding alleged breaches of the PCR 2015 as amended.
Belfast
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
15/03/2024