Tendering Procedures: What to expect & how to prepare
In this webinar, we will look at the UK’s new tendering procedures and what you can do to improve your chances of winning contracts. Register now: Tuesday, 29 April 2025, 1 – 2pm
Your resource hub for understanding and interpreting the changes introduced with the Public Procurement Act 2023.
The Procurement Act was implemented on Monday 24 February 2025, introducing new tendering processes and changing how businesses bid for public sector contracts.
The primary objective of this Act is to remove the barriers within public procurement which limited both competition and efficiency. By introducing a system that is flexible, transparent, and accessible, the UK government aims to unlock more opportunities for businesses like yours.
While change can be challenging at first, you will quickly come to appreciate the advantages of these new processes.
Contracting authorities can now mix design their own procurement processes to create their ideal procurement journey. What does this mean for you? Not all tenders you encounter will be the same, with a greater variety of bidding processes and requirements being used.
Join us on 29 April 2025 for guidance on how to prepare for any tender, and improve your chances of success.
The Act has introduced new tendering rules, and once you are familiar with the new processes, you should find that bidding for contracts is easier than it was previously.
This section provides essential information about the Act, helping you to understand its processes, objectives and implications for businesses like yours.
On 24 February 2025, the UK introduced the Procurement Act, changing the regulations for how the public sector purchases goods, services and works.
For suppliers, the Act aims to make the process of bidding for contracts easier, while also opening the market to more businesses – particularly SMEs.
An overview of the most significant changes for suppliers can be found in our article ‘What do businesses need to know about the Procurement Act’.
The Procurement Review Unit (PRU) ensure both buyers and suppliers are following the rules of the Procurement Act 2023. The PRU will review the compliance of contracting authorities, and investigate suppliers for any potential reasons for exclusion.
The PRU aims to:
The Procurement Act changes how you bid for contracts on Find a Tender. To bid for these tenders, you will first have to register on Find a Tender and provide a range of information about your business. This can be time consuming, so we advise you do this before you have a contract you wish to bid on.
Read our ‘Supplier Information and Registration guide’ for details of the information you will have to provide, and how this affects your bid submission.
All other tenders will provide you with clear instructions for how your bids should be submitted. These instructions will vary from portal to portal.
The Procurement Act 2023 transformed how the UK public sector buys goods and services from suppliers, making the market more accessible for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Key benefits include:
Full details of all the befits from the Act can be found in our article ‘How does the Procurement Act benefit suppliers?’
All information from the UK government about the Procurement Act 2023 can be found on their Transforming Public Procurement page.
Tenders in the UK are published across more than 550 portals. Suppliers may need to register on each site to bid for tenders, but searching on public portals is unrestricted (albeit time-consuming). The key official portals for accessing tenders are:
For the most accurate and comprehensive source of UK tenders, suppliers can subscribe to Tenders Direct.
Tenders Direct offers a unique tender alert service, where our team of specialists reviews tender notices and identifies relevant requirements for your business. This service saves customers time and exposes them to more opportunities than they might find on their own.
Subscriptions start at £1,395, and include tender alerts, dedicated account management and access to a range of tendering tools.
This will vary from industry to industry, and from tender to tender.
When bidding for contracts on Find a Tender, you will have to register your business details, which involves completing a standardised questionnaire. In this questionnaire, you will have to provide a lot of details, and will need to reference several pieces of documentation – from financial records to industry qualifications. View our Find a Tender ‘Supplier Information and Registration guide’ for more information.
For all other tenders, you will typically have to show your accreditations, 2-3 years of audited accounts, and evidence of your ability to deliver similar requirements. These however are not always a requirement, but being prepared to provide these, or suitable justifications, will improve your chances of success.
For each tender you want to bid for, ensure you review and deconstruct all information available to you. Every notice will specify the documents you need to provide with your submission.
