SME-friendly public buyers

Which UK public buyers award the biggest share of their contracts to small and medium-sized enterprises? 633 buyers have at least 10 published supplier awards with a declared supplier size; 356 of them award most to SMEs. Across these buyers, SMEs won 56% of awards. Built only from award notices on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder.

633 buyers.

#	Buyer	Share to SMEs	Awards	Median value	Repeat-incumbent share
1	Innovate UKSouth West · Other public bodies	100%239 of 239 with size declared	239	£3,218	85%
2	HealthTrust Europe LLP (HTE) acting as agent for the University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (“UHCW”)West Midlands · NHS & health	100%32 of 32 with size declared	32	—	0%
3	Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government (IDeA)London · Central government & agencies	100%25 of 25 with size declared	25	£24k	0%
4	Legal, Democratic and Business Intelligence, Swansea Council,Wales · Councils & combined authorities	100%23 of 23 with size declared	23	—	0%
5	Merthyr Tydfil Housing AssociationWales · Housing associations	100%20 of 20 with size declared	20	—	0%
6	University of BedfordshireEast of England · Schools, colleges & universities	100%19 of 19 with size declared	19	£60k	53%
7	Royal Navy MuseumsSouth East · Other public bodies	100%16 of 16 with size declared	16	—	0%
8	Canterbury City CouncilSouth East · Councils & combined authorities	100%12 of 12 with size declared	12	£54k	17%
9	Langstane Housing AssociationScotland · Housing associations	100%12 of 12 with size declared	12	—	0%
10	Surrey Heath Borough CouncilSouth East · Councils & combined authorities	100%11 of 11 with size declared	11	£260k	0%
11	First Choice Homes OldhamNorth West · Housing associations	100%10 of 10 with size declared	10	£280k	0%
12	UK RESEARCH & INNOVATIONSouth West · Other public bodies	99%326 of 328 with size declared	328	£6,009	86%
13	Carmarthenshire County CouncilWales · Councils & combined authorities	98%40 of 41 with size declared	41	—	5%
14	Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue AuthoritySouth East · Police & fire	97%29 of 30 with size declared	30	—	80%
15	CDS CooperativesLondon · Other public bodies	96%162 of 168 with size declared	168	—	0%
16	Communities & Housing Investment Consortium Ltd (CHIC)West Midlands · Housing associations	96%25 of 26 with size declared	26	—	12%
17	London Borough of Barking and DagenhamLondon · Councils & combined authorities	96%67 of 70 with size declared	70	£417k	6%
18	Northamptonshire Children's TrustEast Midlands · Other public bodies	95%41 of 43 with size declared	43	—	0%
19	NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care BoardYorkshire and the Humber · NHS & health	95%118 of 124 with size declared	124	—	2%
20	Rochdale Borough CouncilNorth West · Councils & combined authorities	95%19 of 20 with size declared	21	£37k	43%
21	NHS Property Services LimitedNorth West · NHS & health	95%90 of 95 with size declared	95	£94k	40%
22	KENT COMMUNITY HEALTH NHS FOUNDATION TRUSTSouth East · NHS & health	95%70 of 74 with size declared	75	£48k	0%
23	COVENTRY CITY COUNCILWest Midlands · Councils & combined authorities	94%266 of 282 with size declared	282	£255k	76%
24	Wokingham Borough CouncilSouth East · Councils & combined authorities	93%27 of 29 with size declared	29	£18k	76%
25	Knowsley CouncilNorth West · Councils & combined authorities	93%25 of 27 with size declared	27	£55k	41%
26	Tameside Metropolitan Borough CouncilNorth West · Councils & combined authorities	93%74 of 80 with size declared	80	£100k	84%
27	Barcud Shared ServicesWales · Other public bodies	92%12 of 13 with size declared	13	—	15%
28	Energy Saving Trust LtdLondon · Other public bodies	92%12 of 13 with size declared	13	—	0%
29	KINGSTOWN WORKS LIMITEDYorkshire and the Humber · Other public bodies	92%12 of 13 with size declared	13	£3.1m	0%
30	West Suffolk CouncilEast of England · Councils & combined authorities	92%12 of 13 with size declared	13	£921k	0%
31	Rotherham Borough CouncilYorkshire and the Humber · Councils & combined authorities	92%22 of 24 with size declared	24	—	8%
32	Cheshire west and Chester Borough CouncilNorth West · Councils & combined authorities	92%11 of 12 with size declared	12	£88k	0%
33	London Borough of Hammersmith and FulhamLondon · Councils & combined authorities	91%32 of 35 with size declared	35	—	6%
34	The University Of KentSouth East · Schools, colleges & universities	91%21 of 23 with size declared	23	£204k	9%
35	London Borough of MertonLondon · Councils & combined authorities	91%52 of 57 with size declared	57	£150k	70%
36	Bridgend County Borough CouncilWales · Councils & combined authorities	91%30 of 33 with size declared	33	£616k	6%
37	North East Lincolnshire Borough CouncilYorkshire and the Humber · Councils & combined authorities	91%10 of 11 with size declared	11	£1.7m	0%
38	Police and Crime Commissioner for LancashireNorth West · Police & fire	91%10 of 11 with size declared	11	£552k	0%
39	CADENT GAS LIMITEDWest Midlands · Other public bodies	90%36 of 40 with size declared	40	£2.7m	5%
40	Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West NorfolkEast of England · Councils & combined authorities	90%9 of 10 with size declared	10	£31k	20%

Methodology

Source: award notices published on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder that name at least one supplier. Each named supplier on a notice counts as one award (frameworks with many suppliers count once per supplier). No spending or invoice data is used.
SME: the supplier declared itself a small or medium-sized enterprise on that award notice; if the notice is silent, the size it declared on its most recent notice. Awards with no declared size are left out of the share.
Sample size: buyers appear only with at least 10 linked awards and 10 with a declared supplier size. Smaller buyers still have an award panel on their own page, but no scorecard.
Median value: median awarded value over single-supplier awards that state a value. Repeat-incumbent share: share of the buyer's awards won by suppliers that won from it at least twice.
Buyer type is a rough grouping from the buyer's name and region comes from the buyer's address on its notices. Buyer names are grouped by spelling, so a few organisations may appear under two names.
Many contracts are awarded without a published award notice, so treat these as indicators, not a full record of a buyer's spending. Always read the notices.

About this data

Tenders come from the UK government's Find a Tender and Contracts Finder services (OCDS feeds), refreshed twice a day. A tender counts as open until its stated deadline. Values are as stated by the buyer and are often estimates. Always check the official notice before bidding.