Morgan Cole has acted for the Department of Health in closing a deal with a consortium comprising Futurebuilders England Limited and Partnerships UK, for the fund management of the Social Enterprise Investment Fund ("SEIF").

SEIF is a £100 million fund set up in 2007 by the DH to make investments in social enterprises providing health and social care services. The DH is committed to promoting a vibrant social enterprise sector in health and social care by supporting social enterprises delivering innovative, responsive and personalised services, encouraging new entrants to the sector, and opening up marketing and commissioning to social enterprises.

In order to harness the expertise available in the social finance sector, the DH advertised for a new contractor to take over management and operation of SEIF with effect from 1 June 2009, using new powers under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 regarding investing in social enterprises and in particular, delegating functions such as management and operation.

In procuring the fund management services, the DH used the new Competitive Dialogue procedure as engaging with investors in the market would harness existing learning and ensure that the services provided to social enterprise beneficiaries would have as much impact as possible. The process involved four rounds of meetings with each bidder in which various parts of their proposal were discussed, followed by a final tender.

Morgan Cole partner Simon McCann, who led the legal team, said, "It has been a real privilege to be involved in this exciting and innovative project. Social enterprises are an ever more important provider of key services but often find it difficult to get started or to grow, as funding from traditional sources can be hard to come by. It is immensely satisfying to know that this deal will help more of them to succeed, and Morgan Cole are proud to have been a part of it.".

Simon McCann can be contacted by telephone on 029 2038 5400 or by email.