Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2017-10-04
Buyer: Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 71311300 | 71314000: Energy and related services | 71314200: Energy management services | 71314300: Energy-efficiency consultancy services | 79419000
Estimated value: 4000000 GBP

Technical requirements: An award of a service concession contract to enable the setting up and management by an economic operator of a framework agreement for the provision of low carbon energy efficient infrastructure providers. This VEAT notice does not concern the award of the framework agreement. COCH will invite tenders separately by issuing a Contract Notice through the Official Journal of the European Union for a specific framework agreement for the provision of low carbon energy efficient infrastructure providers. The supplier awarded the concession will assist in the development of a capable and sustainable ongoing market place through this framework agreement, for the provision of energy infrastructure providers, to ensure and maintain a competitive and sustainable marketplace.
This is a service concession contract. The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust intends to award a service concession contract to Carbon and Energy Fund Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV), in order to provide guidance, advice and expertise in administering transformational change services to the NHS, Local and Central Government specific to low carbon energy efficient infrastructure and the ongoing management and performance of their contractual obligations therein. This will include the supply of resources and expertise to deliver an end to end package of transformational delivery for each client organisation using the service, from point of identification of requirement through to award of a contract and ongoing performance management of their selected provider.
The Carbon and Energy Fund Ltd is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by trustees representing the NHS and other related bodies to provide the full range of carbon and energy project support services (technical, legal, procurement, balance sheet, project management, framework development), that are totally funded in arrears from project costs, through the NCIS system using a small portion of the project funding, so as to impose no burden upon a public sector body wishing to engage with it. The Carbon and Energy Fund Ltd is the only supplier of the services listed within section II.1.4) who operate under a concession arrangement, whereby payment for services provided are received from the financer of the project on a commission basis rather than receive payment from the client authority themselves. The partnership arrangement to be awarded to the Carbon and Energy Fund Ltd is properly categorised as a ‘services concession contract’ (as defined in the Concessions Contracts Regulations 2016) because: (i) the consideration to be received by the partner will be the right to exploit the services that are the subject of the contract together with payment (which is received from the financier of the project on a commission basis, not from the client authority); and (ii) an operating risk is with the Carbon and Energy Fund Ltd as they would incur loss if they were unable to generate call-offs from the framework. Services concession contracts are covered by the Concessions Contracts Regulations 2016 and are therefore not covered by the scope of the Public Contracts Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council. The Trust intends to award a contract to the partner as a below threshold services concession under the Concessions Contracts Regulations 2016 as the remuneration of the Carbon and Energy Fund will not exceed the Concessions Contracts Regulations threshold of 4 104 394 GBP.
The contracting authority will incorporate a minimum 10 calendar day (when using electronic means) standstill period. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (‘Regulations’) provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). Any such action must be brought promptly and within the time limits as defined in the above regulations.
For the avoidance of doubt, the contracting authority will not enter into this service concession contract before 10.10.2017.


Winner: Carbon and Energy Fund Limited
Award value: 4000000