Tenders in United Kingdom

Public procurement in United Kingdom

Key facts for bidders, checked against official sources (2026-10). General information, not legal advice. Always confirm the rules in the tender documents and on the official portal.

Main procurement law

Procurement Act 2023 (2023)

Regulator

Cabinet Office (incl. the Procurement Review Unit)

Official portal

Find a Tender service (Central Digital Platform)

WTO procurement agreement

United Kingdom is covered by the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA): above set value thresholds, suppliers from other GPA parties must be treated like local ones.

Foreign bidders

Suppliers entitled to benefits under a trade agreement listed in the Act (treaty state suppliers) cannot be discriminated against for covered procurements. Buyers may disregard tenders from suppliers that are neither UK nor treaty state suppliers.

Notice languages

English

Currency

GBP

Good to know

The Act took effect on 24 February 2025, and Find a Tender now carries both above- and below-threshold notices for new procurements. Devolved Scottish authorities mostly stay under Scottish procurement law, so Scottish below-threshold notices do not appear on Find a Tender.

Trade snapshot

GDP (2025)

US$4.00 trillion

Exports (2025)

US$1.22 trillion in goods and services

Imports (2025)

US$1.28 trillion in goods and services

Trade share (2025)

62% of GDP

Average tariff (2022)

1.0% (applied, trade-weighted, all products)

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0).

United Kingdom on FreeTender right now

4,323 open notices; the busiest sectors are healthcare & pharma (580), construction & infrastructure (495), financial & professional services (398), transport & logistics (349) and education & training (348).

Most active buyers: Ministry of Defence (56), NHS England (45), NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED (31), YPO (29), Post Office Limited (28).

Sources: find-tender.service.gov.uk · gov.uk · gov.uk · legislation.gov.uk

About tenders in United Kingdom

Public bodies and private organisations in United Kingdom publish tenders to procure goods, works and services. On FreeTender you can browse open opportunities by sector, read the full notice and key dates, and go to the official source to verify and apply. Set up a free alert to be notified as soon as new United Kingdom tenders that match your keywords are published.

Browse United Kingdom tenders by sector