UK SBS PS16030 MEO report for Project Vulcan

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills wishes to procure an adviser with appropriate skills, experience and resources to provide an MEO report establishing whether the proposed financing terms are commercial, within a relatively short timeframe. The output will take the form of a report that HMG can rely on to establish that the financing has been provided on commercial terms in line with the MEO principle.

The precise timetable for delivery of the outputs will depend on the amount and nature of the information that is available, and will be discussed and agreed with the supplier at the beginning of the engagement. In any event we will expect a final report by the 31st March 2016.

The report is to assess the proposed financial arrangement between the Government and the recipient for consistency with the Market Economy Operator Principle (MEO). In order to establish consistency with the MEO test the report will consider: • The extent to which financing could be provided by the private sector on similar terms and comment from the potential private lender perspective (including whether a potential private lender would find these terms acceptable). • The general terms under which the private sector could provide financing in these circumstances and given the position of the recipient in both financial terms (such as rate of interest) as well as non-financial terms and conditions (such as, for example, position in the hierarchy of financial claims, recourse to assets in the instance of insolvency, etc). • How the recipient intends to use the funds provided and whether a third party, such as another creditor, could derive benefits from this financial arrangement over and beyond what would be expected in a commercial transaction on market terms. • Benchmarking the key terms of the proposed financial arrangement (using assumptions which are applicable to all private investors, not just the State) against potential private investors’ approach if the latter provided financing in a similar context.

An evaluation of the Government’s returns under all available options, including the financial position of all creditors in an insolvency situation, the rescheduling of debts, credit forbearance, and the possibility of further investment in order to reduce a debt or further losses (taking into account the viability of the company). Additional information: As part of the strategic alliance between UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UK SBS) and Crown Commercial Service (CCS), UK SBS can use the CCS eSourcing Suite for future procurements.

If you have not yet registered on the eSourcing Suite, this can be done online at https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk by following the link ‘Register for CCS eSourcing’. Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so.

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The Sourcing documents can then be accessed on the eSourcing Suite at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in the Specification documents within Contracts Finder. As a user of the e-Sourcing Suite you will have access to Emptoris email messaging service which facilitates all messages sent to you and from you in relation to any specific RFX event.

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