Corrigendum-UPN-00618 - Future Places Fund

AI Summary

The West of England Combined Authority is seeking a qualified Fund Adviser to manage the £500 million Future Places Fund, a regional impact investment platform dedicated to reviving stalled, “oven‑ready” housing and commercial development schemes. The adviser will oversee the fund’s entire lifecycle, beginning with the origination, structuring and execution of individual deals. This includes designing a continuous pipeline, engaging a broad network of local authorities, property professionals and national developers, and negotiating bespoke transaction structures that balance risk and return while prioritising capital recyclability and clear exit pathways.

Once capital is deployed, the adviser will conduct active portfolio management and asset monitoring. Duties cover monthly draw‑down oversight, validation of construction and financial milestones, covenant compliance, and proactive mitigation of project risks such as supply‑chain issues or contractor insolvency. The role also incorporates rigorous due‑diligence, cell‑by‑cell underwriting, and the management of loan or equity documentation to ensure fiscal discipline and timely closings. Finally, the adviser is responsible for embedding the fund’s impact, ESG and output metrics into every transaction, tracking outcomes in housing delivery, job creation, economic growth, brownfield regeneration and carbon reduction.

The adviser must structure investment tenors of 3 to 5 years with defined exit and repayment hierarchies.

Description

Executive Summary & Background:
The Investment Team is advancing the development of the £500m Future Places Fund (FPF). The fund is evolving its core strategy to operate as a regional impact investment platform specifically targeting stalled, "oven-ready" housing and commercial schemes across the region.
Unlike traditional public sector funding architectures, the FPF will move away from grant reliance. Instead, it will deploy a revolving, largely repayable investment model designed to recycle capital over time, alongside a deal-by-deal co-investment strategy with institutional and pension fund partners to maximize regional impact.
The draft investment strategy and structure have recently been formally endorsed by the Strategic Place Partnership Board. The Authority is now finalising the necessary governance and delivery architecture to ensure schemes can be brought forward rapidly.
Scope of Requirements:
Core Responsibilities and Scope of Work
The successful Fund Adviser will be required to manage and execute across the following three core pillars (A,B,C) of the fund lifecycle:
A. Origination, Structuring & Execution
Pipeline, Origination & Market Engagement
• Design and implement an approach for continuous pipeline management, market engagement and opportunity sourcing, including helping the Authority maintain a transparent route for eligible schemes to be considered. This will initially prioritise opportunities capable of demonstrating realistic delivery trajectories within the current mayoral term.
• Engage with a diverse network of regional stakeholders, including local authorities, public-sector partners, the local property community, and national developers or investors to source "oven-ready" schemes.
Transaction Structuring & Investment Modelling
• Design bespoke, deal-by-deal investment structures that balance risk and return while prioritizing capital recyclability and delivery.
• Structure appropriate pricing, tenors (typically ranging from 3 to 5 years), and clear exit strategies-including complex repayment hierarchies (e.g., senior debt recovery followed by FPF equity capital recovery) and profit-share/upside mechanisms.
End-to-End Due Diligence & Transaction Execution
The adviser will have primary responsibility for driving transactions through a structured, 4-stage governance and underwriting process:
• Investment Overview: Producing concise, one-page investment overviews for initial deal screening.
• Stage 1 (Heads of Terms): Negotiating and finalizing commercial Heads of Terms (HoT) with prospective borrowers and recipients.
• Stage 2 (Detailed Due Diligence): Undertaking rigorous financial, commercial, and risk due diligence on the sponsor and the scheme.
• Closing: Managing the finalization of loan/equity documentation and overseeing financial closing.
B. Ongoing Portfolio Management & Asset Monitoring
Following financial close, the Fund Adviser will be responsible for the active commercial and operational management of the invested portfolio to safeguard public capital and ensure delivery. Responsibilities include:
• Drawdown & Capital Deployment Management: Overseeing the monthly loan/equity drawdown process. This includes reviewing and validating Independent Monitoring Surveyor (IMS) reports, verifying "cost-to-complete" metrics, and ensuring funding is released only against verified development milestones.
• Construction & Milestone Tracking: Actively monitoring on-site construction progress against agreed development programs. The adviser must proactively identify project delays, supply chain disruptions, or contractor insolvency risks before they impact fund deployment.
• Covenant & Compliance Monitoring: Continuous tracking of borrower compliance with financial and non-financial covenants, including Loan-to-Value (LTV), Loan-to-Cost (LTC), interest cover ratios, and legal obligations.
• Asset Restructuring & Workout Support: In the event of project distress or underperformance, leading on variations, extensions, or refinancing negotiations to protect the FPF's capital and ensure project completion.
C. Impact, ESG & Output Reporting
Embed the fund's core performance metrics into the initial appraisal and long-term monitoring of every transaction.
Ensure all approved investments explicitly track and deliver against the fund's primary output metrics, specifically:
o Housing Delivery: Total homes built, with a primary focus on maximizing affordable housing across all tenures.
o Economic Growth: Jobs created and safeguarded through commercial, industrial, and mixed-use developments, alongside overall GVA growth.
o Sustainability & Regeneration: Total acreage of brownfield regeneration achieved and measurable carbon reduction outputs.
Total value (capped)
• The management fee is capped at £200,000 per annum excl VAT with a maximum capped value of £1,000,000 excl VAT for the maximum possible five year term.
• This value excludes the transactional and market facing fees.
Estimated Contract dates:
3 years + optional 1 year extension + optional 1 year extension. Maximum possible term is 5 years.

Estimated date of publication of contract notice: 2026-07-30T23:59:59+01:00
Contract location: UK
Amendments:
Other additional information: Amendment to contract dates

Engagement process description
Engagement process description
The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority intends to host a market engagement event in advance of an upcoming procurement competition for the Future Places Fund procurement.
The event will be held online via Microsoft Teams on Thursday 23rd July 2026 from 15:00 - 15:45.
In order to register your interest for this event, please register your interest through the Atamis sourcing portal:
https://weca-atamis.my.site.com/s/Welcome
Once you have registered interest for this opportunity, a link to the Market Engagement Event will be sent to your registered supplier email address.
If you do not currently have an Atamis supplier account, you will need to register to be able to access this opportunity. Details can be found below:
https://suppliersupport.atamis.co.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/4613254620319-Registering-with-a-Supplier-Portal#h_01JETWJWYHX0AZ3TWTCYWN3PVG
The event is expected to be interactive with attendees encouraged to provide feedback and participate in Q&A
SUPPLIERS WISHING TO ATTEND MUST EXPRESS THEIR INTEREST VIA ATAMIS NO LATER THAN 17:00 ON WEDNESDAY 22ND JULY 2026
Due to capacity restrictions, attendance is limited to two representatives per organisation.

Lot: 1
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes

Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: En

Details

Status:
Closed
Sectors:
66171000 - Financial consultancy services
70000000 - Real estate services
Place of origin:
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Places of performance:
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Deadline:
Oct 21, 2026, 11:00 PM
Contract duration:
Start date: 22 October 2026, End date: 21 October 2029
Contract type:
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