Tenders are pivotal in the business development strategy for many construction companies. With firms looking to setting up lucrative income streams, it is important to know where to search for bids and tenders. Opportunity tracking can take a long time, so we have compiled a list of portals and websites that list the contracts you could be winning.
How do you find tenders?
There are several organic ways to identify contracts, such as:
- Contract notices published in trade publications, such as Construction Enquirer
- Receiving government tender bulletins
- Searching department websites
Which portals do you recommend?
There are a variety of portals we recommend aiding your bid and tender search. It’s important to remember that public sector organisations have to follow certain rules regarding the publication of tenders. Private businesses, on the other hand, are not obligated to follow these rules rigidly.
Contracts Finder
Contracts Finder lets you search for information about contracts worth over £10,000 with the government and its agencies.
You can use Contracts Finder to:
- Search for contract opportunities in different sectors
- Find out what’s coming up in the future
- Look up details of previous tenders and contracts
You can create an account to get email updates and save your searches. You can still search and apply for contracts without an account.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own dedicated public sector procurement websites. These are:
- Public Contracts Scotland for opportunities with public sector bodies in Scotland
- Sell2Wales for opportunities with public sector bodies in Wales
- eSourcing NI and eTendersNI for opportunities with public sector bodies in Northern Ireland
Find a Tender Service
From January 1st 2021, Find a Tender replaces the requirement for UK high-value public sector tenders to be posted on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily).
Use the Find a Tender service to search and apply for high value contracts (usually above £118,000) in the UK’s public and utilities sectors.
Contracts will continue to be listed on Tenders Electronic Daily if the procurement process started before 1 January 2021.
TED publishes all notices advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Contracting authorities must abide by strict rules whereby all contracts over a certain value must be published here regardless of whether they are published anywhere else or not.
Tender alerts services
There are plenty of websites that that offer tender alerts, some are free, and some charge a subscription fee.
- Bidstats Comprehensive UK public sector contracts search. Currently free in its beta stage.
- B2B Quote Tenders B2B Quote Tenders provide cost-effective public sector tender alert service. You can trial the service using a free search once registered.
- Open Opps Open Opps is a global tender portal. All the data is free for people to access. If you subscribe you get to see the tenders slightly earlier than non-subscribers.
Other UK Public Sector Tender Portals
There are many other UK tender portals for finding tenders for free. They show contract opportunities for councils, housing associations etc. You can create your own free account and set up alerts for tenders. Some allow you to post a profile so that public sector buyers can search for your service/product.
Here are some examples:
- Kent Business Portal Information about existing contracts, tendering and sub-contracting opportunities for Medway and Kent Councils as well as Kent Fire & Rescue.
- London Tenders Procurement Portal Procurement portal for many London boroughs. Registration is free. Once registered you receive email alerts that match your profile.
- SE Shared Services e-Sourcing Portal A collaboration between public sector authorities in the South East region
- Housing Procurement Portal A tender portal for housing associations contract opportunities.
- NHS England The tender portal for NHS contract opportunities in England.
Bid Management Consultancy
Propeller Studios, experienced bid consultants, specialise in writing winning bids and proposals for the construction sector.
We have a track record of supporting construction contractors to win significant projects. We have a thorough understanding of all stages of the construction process.
We can help you win the new work. As we come out of lockdown, you may have less resource. Our team is ready to bridge the gap.
We can write, manage, design, and review your bid. Whatever you need, we can give you that support.
