North-based consultants Development Partners Ltd has won an £8m contract from Highlands and Islands Enterprise to manage the supply of advice to organisations over the next three-and-a-half-years.

The use of supply partnering for advice provision was introduced in 2003 and its success has led to another round of tendering for the next three-and-a-half year period. Tenders were invited to manage the service in three blocks covered by the nine local enterprise companies.

These are:

• Western Isles Enterprise and Argyll and the Islands Enterprise;
• Lochaber Enterprise and HIE Skye and Wester Ross; and
• Shetland Enterprise, Orkney Enterprise, HIE Inverness and East Highland, HIE Moray, and Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise.

Following an open tendering process under European procurement regulations, Development Partners Ltd has been appointed to provide the service across all three areas.

Jackie Wright, HIE director of business growth and research, said: "The bids we received were very close in terms of quality of provision, but through their tender to service all three areas, Development Partners offered the additional benefit of financial savings.

"HIE recognises the importance of business advice and, through this contract award, we will continue to provide local expertise to organisations throughout the Highlands and Islands.

"I would also like to thank all those companies who submitted bids for the considerable amount of work and energy they put into this process. I would hope it may be possible for some of them to continue to contribute a role in advice provision under the management of Development Partners Ltd."