Audit and Block Management Services

Specification

1. Audit Services and On-going Monitoring:

•Conducting audits of prospective investment counterparties to assess their operational suitability for financing facilities (including block discounting or other forms of receivables financing) and submitting comprehensive reports to British Business Investments (BBI) to support BBI’s normal internal due diligence and facility approval process.

•Conducting periodic on-site comprehensive audits (normally quarterly) of investment counterparties, including but not limited to:

• reviews of customer records;
• contacting customers on a sample basis by telephone or in writing;
• reviewing latest HMRC and PAYE payments;
• reviewing management accounts and bank statements;
• reviewing underwriting policy and example accounts

and submitting associated comprehensive reports to BBI.

•Advising BBI on breaches of finance and underlying counterparty customer agreements and on associated adverse findings or suspicions.

2. Block Discount Facilities:

•Managing block purchase process including:

• ensuring that blocks of agreements offered to BBI contain agreements that have been correctly executed with enforceable security and comply with match funding requirements and related financial covenants in relevant facility agreement/s;
• reporting on and rejecting proposed blocks that fall outside facility-specific parameters (e.g. re. advance rate or margin);
• arranging for acceptance of satisfactory qualifying blocks of agreements;
• receipt and storage of customer agreements comprising BBI-purchased blocks and related security documentation;
• submitting periodic funding requests to BBI based on monthly counterpart forecasts;
• making payment (pre-funded by BBI) of block purchase prices to investment counterparties;

•Collecting in monies on behalf of BBI from investment counterparties;

•Monitoring and managing portfolios of purchased agreements including requesting replacements for non-performing agreements;

•Operating on BBI’s behalf a client bank account into which funding and repayments will be paid;

•Receiving on its behalf all notices and information to be delivered to BBI under facility and security documentation;

•Reassignment of purchased agreements to counterparties following repayment of all sums due;

•Retaining records of customer agreements comprised in purchased blocks;

•Monitoring counterparty compliance with obligations under financing facilities (e.g. financial covenants, reporting requirements etc.);

•Providing BBI with a suite of monthly and other periodic (including on-demand) reports including but not limited to:

• copy client bank account statement;
• reconciliation of the client bank account per delivery partner;
• statement of capital returns and interest/discount income earned for each delivery partner;
• report of capital balances at month end per block;
• report of projected income per block;
• report of aged analysis or arrears.

•On-going monitoring of performance of customer agreements comprising financed blocks, including notification of non-performing agreements and replacement in accordance with relevant facility terms.

3. Contract Details:

This contract is advertised in accordance with the Open, accelerated procedure. A Prior Information Notice (PIN) was issued for this requirement on 18th September 2023, referenced 2023/S 000-027553. A copy of the notice can be found at: www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027553-2023 ↗. The Contract and is due to to commence on 1/1/2024. Tenders are invited for return by 15/11/2023. Clarifications/requests for further information can be submitted until 8/11/2023. It is anticipated that subject to satisfactory performance the contract will run for a period of 3 years with the option to extend for two further years.