CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE – OFFICIAL JOURNAL

Section I: Contracting Authority

I.1)

Name, Address and Contact Point(s)

I.2)

Type of contracting Authority and Main Activity or Activities

Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions National or federal agency/Office Regional or local Authority Regional or local Agency/Office Body governed by public law European Institution/Agency or International Organisation

General public services Defence Public order and safety Environment Economic and financial affairs Health Housing and community amenities Social protection Recreation, culture and religion Education

Section II: Object of the Contract

II.1)

Description

II.1.1)

Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority

DETI Procurement of Agents for the Official Receiver.

II.1.2(a))

Type of works contract

II.1.2(b))

Type of supplies contract

II.1.2(c))

Type of service contract

II.1.2)

Main site or location of works, place of delivery or performance

Northern Ireland.

II.1.3)

This notice involves a framework agreement

II.1.4)

Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

The Official Receiver (OR) is a civil servant in the Insolvency Service within DETI and is also an officer of the Court in his roles of Trustee in Bankruptcy and Liquidator in limited companies which have been wound up by the Court.

(ii) upon the making of a bankruptcy order or winding-up order the OR immediately becomes responsible for ascertaining and safeguarding the assets in the insolvent estates. In order to fulfil this responsibility he requires the services of a number of Agents who can be called upon at short notice to carry out immediate visits to trading premises and to carry out tasks which include closing down businesses, making an inventory of the assets, uplifting and securing assets and providing valuations of assets;

(iii) for several years the OR has been using Agents to carry out this work and currently has a list of 6 Agents throughout the province whom he can call upon when required. The Agents had been sourced by the OR without going through a competitive tendering. Process. This was on the basis that in his capacity of Trustee/Liquidator of insolvent estates the OR paid Agents' fees out of Trust funds in the estate accounts and therefore this expense was not being paid from public funds. In their September 2012 report following an inspection of the OR Unit, Internal Audit recommended that Insolvency Service management liaise with Central Procurement Directorate in DFP and obtain advice regarding the procurement of services in the administration of insolvency cases where costs are paid from the estate. They considered that competitive tendering would help to ensure greater value for money for creditors whilst also providing equality of opportunity for suppliers in the administration of insolvency cases.

The Insolvency Service through Central Procurement Directorate is seeking tendered proposals from suitably qualified and experienced Agents to carry out this work on an initial one year contract with options to extend for one plus one years. There are 3 separate Lots to cover 3 regions across Northern Ireland.

II.1.5)

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

II.1.6)

Contract covered by the government procurement agreement (GPA)

II.2)

Total final value of the contract(s)

II.2.1)

Total final value of the contract(s)

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)

Type of procedure

IV.1.1)

Type of procedure

IV.2)

Award criteria

IV.2.1)

Award criteria

IV.2.2)

An electronic auction has been used

IV.3)

Administrative information

IV.3.1)

File reference number attributed by the contracting authority

18520

IV.3.2)

Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

Other previous publications

Section V: Award of contract

Contract No:

V.1)

Date of contract award:

V.2)

Numbers of offers received:

V.3)

Name and address of economic operator to whom the contract has been awarded

V.4)

Information on value of contract

V.5)

The contract is likely to be subcontracted

Short description of the value/proportion of the contract to be subcontracted

Section V: Award of contract

Contract No:

V.1)

Date of contract award:

V.2)

Numbers of offers received:

V.3)

Name and address of economic operator to whom the contract has been awarded

V.4)

Information on value of contract

V.5)

The contract is likely to be subcontracted

Short description of the value/proportion of the contract to be subcontracted

Auctions NI Limited

Unit 22 Annesborough Industrial Estate

Lurgan

N.Ireland

BT679JD

Tel: +44 2838988404

Email: info@auctionsni.co.uk

Service Provision: Professional auctioning

Percentage contract: Variable, depending on assets realised.

Section VI: Complementary Information

VI.1)

Contract related to a project and/or programme financed by community funds?

VI.2)

Additional Information

Number of tenderers received from SMEs = 3.

Number of tenderers received from other EU member states = 3 (All Northern Ireland).

Number of tenderers received from non-EU States = 0.

Number of tenders received by electronic means = 3.

VI.3)

Procedures for appeal

VI.3.1)

Body responsible for appeal procedures

Body responsible for mediation procedures

VI.3.2)

Lodging of appeals

VI.3.3)

Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

VI.4)

Dispatch date of this Notice