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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Strategic Communications

BORDER TO COAST PENSIONS PARTNERSHIP LIMITED · Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 30 Sept 2026, 01:41.

Opportunity overview

Border to Coast Pensions Partnership is seeking a corporate communications agency to work with its Policy & Communications team. The appointed agency will act as a day-to-day extension of Border to Coast's team, helping it evolve its long-term communications strategy, spot and navigate issues that might affect the organisation or its partners, and carry out communications and public affairs activity and stakeholder engagement. The selected agency will ideally know the asset management and LGPS ecosystem and understand how regulatory, political and societal factors might impact our business. It will have experience engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and have excellent communications and thought leadership capabilities in both national and trade media (financial and business). 22 tenders were received and 3 suppliers were shortlisted to the final stage.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

APELLA ADVISORS LIMITED

Matched by number
Published award value
£560k
Awarded
15 Sept 2025
Award ID
1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH 11664779
Location
London, UKI32, W1U 2DX, United Kingdom

Classification

  • CPV79416200 — Public relations consultancy services

Lots

  • Lot 1£560k · Including VAT

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
DN774718
Status
complete
Above Threshold
Yes
Procurement Method
open
Main Procurement Category
services
How to submit
Suppliers will need to be registered on Proactis ProContract, log in and registration links are below: Log in - https://procontract.due-north.com/Login/Index?ReturnUrl=%2fLogin%2fLogoutConfirmation Registration link - https://procontract.due-north.com/Register Bidders will need to respond to the ProContract Expression of Interest/Advert, published under Opportunity ID DN774718, to be automatically invited to access tender documentation and submit bids.
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Expression Of Interest Deadline
26 Jun 2025, 00:00

Covered By

GPA

Procedure

Features
Multi Stage procedure will include a tender scoring, moderation and a supplier presentation stage for down-selected suppliers. As Border to Coast previously posted a Planned Procurement Notice (Notice identifier: 2025/S 000-021452) on 14th May 2025, we will be utilising a reduced tendering period of 10 days. The initial contract period is 24 months with 1x 24 month extension available. Estimated Dates below: Supplier Clarification Window 24/06/2025 – 30/06/2025 Tender Response Deadline 04/07/2025 - 12:00pm Presentations (down-selected Suppliers only) Anticipated 19/08/2025 - 21/08/2025 Successful Supplier Identified 15/09/2025 Standstill Period Start and End 16/09/2025 - 25/09/2025 Anticipated Contract Start Date 1st October 2025
Is Accelerated
Yes
Accelerated Rationale
Qualifying planned procurement notice

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Expected award period

Ends
15 Sept 2025, 23:59

Tender Period

Ends
7 Jul 2025, 12:00

Communication

Future Notice Date
25 Jun 2025, 00:59

Enquiry period

Ends
2 Jul 2025, 17:00

Submission terms

Electronic Submission Policy
allowed

Languages

en

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
complete
Has Renewal
Yes

Value

Currency
GBP
Including VAT
560,000

Renewal

Description
Initial contract term of 24 months, with 1x 24 month extension available.

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Quality Criteria
Type
quality

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
70
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 2
Name
Price/Value for Money
Type
price

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
20
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 3
Name
Presentation stage 2 score
Type
quality

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
10
Weight
percentageExact

Contract period

Ends
30 Sept 2027, 23:59
Starts
1 Oct 2025, 00:00
Max Extent Date
30 Sept 2029, 23:59

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
79416200
Scheme
CPV
Description
Public relations consultancy services

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
conflictOfInterest
Description
Not published
Document Type
conflictOfInterest
Entry 2
Id
034952-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK4
Description
Tender notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
tenderNotice
Published
25 Jun 2025, 10:32

Planning and budget

Documents

Entry 1
Id
021376-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Published
14 May 2025, 15:19
Entry 2
Id
021452-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK3
Description
Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
plannedProcurementNotice
Published
14 May 2025, 16:23

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
engagement
Type
engagement
Status
scheduled
Due
24 Jun 2025, 00:59
Description
Initial engagement has taken place with potential agencies in the market. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership is seeking a corporate communications agency to work with its Policy & Communications team. The appointed agency will act as a day-to-day extension of Border to Coast’s team, helping it evolve its long-term communications strategy, spot and navigate issues that might affect the organisation or its partners, and carry out communications and public affairs activity and stakeholder engagement. The selected agency will ideally know the asset management and LGPS ecosystem and understand how regulatory, political and societal factors might impact our business. It will have experience engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and have excellent communications and thought leadership capabilities in both national and trade media (financial and business).

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-COH-10795539
Name
BORDER TO COAST PENSIONS PARTNERSHIP LIMITED

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKE42
Country
GB
Locality
Leeds
Postal Code
LS1 2HJ
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
5th Floor Toronto Square

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Description
Public authority - sub-central government

Identifier

Id
10795539
Scheme
GB-COH

Contact

Name
Border to Coast Procurement Team

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Id
PZTH-6472-NGDG
Scheme
GB-PPON
Organisation 2
Id
GB-COH-11664779
Name
APELLA ADVISORS LIMITED

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UKI32
Country
GB
Locality
London
Postal Code
W1U 2DX
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
11-12 Manchester Mews

Details

Vcse
No
Scale
large
Sheltered Workshop
No
Public Service Mission Organization
No

Identifier

Id
11664779
Scheme
GB-COH

Contact

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Id
PMLJ-3835-QVJT
Scheme
GB-PPON

Award information

Award 1
Id
1
Date
16 Sept 2025, 00:00
Title
Strategic Communications
Status
active
Has Renewal
Yes
Above Threshold
Yes
Main Procurement Category
services
Assessment Summaries Date Sent
16 Sept 2025, 00:00

Items

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 2
Region
UK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
79416200
Scheme
CPV
Description
Public relations consultancy services

Value

Currency
GBP
Including VAT
560,000

Renewal

Description
Initial contract term of 24 months, with 1x 24 month extension available

Documents

Entry 1
Id
057082-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK6
Description
Contract award notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
awardNotice
Published
16 Sept 2025, 16:53

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-COH-11664779
Name
APELLA ADVISORS LIMITED

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
1
Type
futureSignatureDate
Status
scheduled
Due
30 Sept 2025, 23:59

Related lots

1

Contract period

Ends
30 Sept 2027, 23:59
Starts
1 Oct 2025, 00:00
Max Extent Date
30 Sept 2029, 23:59

Standstill Period

Ends
25 Sept 2025, 23:59

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
1
Title
Strategic Communications
Status
active
Award ID
1
Date Signed
6 Nov 2025, 00:00
Has Renewal
Yes
Above Threshold
Yes
No Agreed Metrics Rationale
Contract value less than £5 million including VAT

Value

Amount
463,598
Currency
GBP
Including VAT
556,317

Period

Ends
30 Sept 2027, 23:59
Starts
6 Nov 2025, 00:00
Max Extent Date
30 Sept 2029, 23:59

Renewal

Description
Initial 2 year term followed by an additional 2 year extension

Documents

Entry 1
Id
071539-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK7
Description
Contract details notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
contractNotice
Published
6 Nov 2025, 11:02

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Leeds · UKE42 · LS1 2HJ · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-051366-2025-11-06T11:02:44ZPreliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·