Tender: Specialist Legal Support for ECW Pre-Transfer Planning – Cheshire and Warrington

About

Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington (ECW) is seeking a supplier of specialist legal advice to support pre-transfer planning and due diligence on the potential transfer of some or all of ECW's functions, assets and responsibilities as the sub-region prepares to establish a Combined Authority in Spring 2026. ECW is a company limited by guarantee wholly owned by the three unitary authorities, formerly the Local Enterprise Partnership, which transferred its staff, funding role and assets to local authority ownership in 2024. With the establishment of the new Combined Authority it is anticipated that some or all functions currently delivered by ECW and CWTB may transfer to one or more local authorities, to the Combined Authority or to another body, though no final decisions have yet been made. Support will be commissioned through a retainer and call-off contract, and the appointed provider must be able to advise across organisational, corporate, public law, employment and commercial matters and respond quickly as the transfer landscape becomes clearer.