SME-friendly public buyers

Which UK public buyers award the biggest share of their contracts to small and medium-sized enterprises? 639 buyers have at least 10 published supplier awards with a declared supplier size; 359 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.

639 buyers.

#	Buyer	Share to SMEs	Awards	Median value	Repeat-incumbent share
561	Government Legal DepartmentLondon · Central government & agencies	25%3 of 12 with size declared	12	£100k	17%
562	Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation TrustSouth West · NHS & health	25%3 of 12 with size declared	12	£113k	0%
563	Suffolk Coastal District Council and Waveney District CouncilRegion not stated · Councils & combined authorities	25%3 of 12 with size declared	12	£215k	17%
564	Bassetlaw District CouncilEast Midlands · Councils & combined authorities	24%8 of 33 with size declared	33	£108k	24%
565	BATH SPA UNIVERSITYSouth West · Schools, colleges & universities	24%13 of 54 with size declared	54	£94k	65%
566	Department for Environment, Food & Rural AffairsLondon · Central government & agencies	24%5 of 21 with size declared	29	£138k	28%
567	University of Portsmouth Higher Education CorporationSouth East · Schools, colleges & universities	24%5 of 21 with size declared	21	—	24%
568	British CouncilLondon · Councils & combined authorities	24%12 of 51 with size declared	51	£313k	12%
569	Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMD)Northern Ireland · Councils & combined authorities	24%4 of 17 with size declared	53	£51k	38%
570	Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner for StaffordshireWest Midlands · Police & fire	24%4 of 17 with size declared	17	£67k	0%
571	Greater Manchester PoliceNorth West · Police & fire	23%3 of 13 with size declared	13	£251k	0%
572	STUDENT LOANS COMPANY LIMITEDScotland · Other public bodies	23%5 of 22 with size declared	22	£239k	41%
573	West Midlands Fire ServiceWest Midlands · Police & fire	23%7 of 31 with size declared	31	£35k	55%
574	Homes England (the name adopted by the Homes and Communities Agency)North East · Housing associations	23%18 of 80 with size declared	80	£100k	48%
575	DESNZLondon · Other public bodies	21%3 of 14 with size declared	14	£364k	14%
576	Frimley Health NHS Foundation TrustRegion not stated · NHS & health	21%3 of 14 with size declared	14	£231k	43%
577	South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation TrustLondon · NHS & health	21%3 of 14 with size declared	14	£156k	14%
578	Rotherham Metropolitan Borough CouncilYorkshire and the Humber · Councils & combined authorities	21%4 of 19 with size declared	19	£200k	0%
579	Environment AgencyLondon · Central government & agencies	20%29 of 142 with size declared	197	£146k	71%
580	Sellafield LimitedNorth West · Other public bodies	20%11 of 55 with size declared	58	£490k	21%
581	MCA - Maritime and Coastguard AgencySouth East · Central government & agencies	20%7 of 35 with size declared	35	£111k	37%
582	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined AuthorityEast of England · Councils & combined authorities	20%2 of 10 with size declared	10	—	0%
583	Education Learning TrustNorth West · Schools, colleges & universities	20%2 of 10 with size declared	10	—	20%
584	UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX(THE)South East · Schools, colleges & universities	20%2 of 10 with size declared	10	—	0%
585	NATIONAL WEALTH FUND LIMITEDYorkshire and the Humber · Other public bodies	19%8 of 42 with size declared	42	£300k	31%
586	Transport for LondonLondon · Other public bodies	19%15 of 80 with size declared	83	£910k	40%
587	London Borough of Hammersmith & FulhamLondon · Councils & combined authorities	19%3 of 16 with size declared	16	£570k	13%
588	BIP SOLUTIONS LIMITEDLondon · Other public bodies	19%10 of 54 with size declared	54	£174k	20%
589	H M REVENUE & CUSTOMSLondon · Other public bodies	18%9 of 49 with size declared	49	£2.5m	31%
590	CPSLondon · Other public bodies	18%2 of 11 with size declared	11	£921k	0%
591	Manchester University NHS Foundation TrustNorth West · NHS & health	18%3 of 17 with size declared	17	£2.9m	0%
592	Construction Industry Training BoardEast of England · Other public bodies	17%2 of 12 with size declared	12	£186k	33%
593	Gateshead Health NHS Foundation TrustNorth East · NHS & health	17%2 of 12 with size declared	12	£2m	0%
594	FCALondon · Other public bodies	16%6 of 38 with size declared	51	£164k	65%
595	Food Standards AgencyYorkshire and the Humber · Central government & agencies	16%3 of 19 with size declared	19	£199k	32%
596	Student Loans CompanyScotland · Other public bodies	16%3 of 19 with size declared	19	£550k	16%
597	University of LincolnEast Midlands · Schools, colleges & universities	15%2 of 13 with size declared	13	£197k	46%
598	DfTc - Department for TransportLondon · Central government & agencies	15%9 of 60 with size declared	60	£200k	35%
599	NHS THAMES VALLEY INTEGRATED CARE BOARDSouth East · NHS & health	15%3 of 20 with size declared	20	—	40%
600	DEFRALondon · Other public bodies	15%4 of 27 with size declared	39	£153k	51%

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.