Private companies
Win the contracts you should be winning.
For technology, digital, data and professional services companies, UK based and international, that want a defined target, a route in and the positioning to win in the UK public sector.
The opportunity
Source: National Procurement Policy Statement, written ministerial statement to Parliament, 13 February 2025.
The UK public sector spends £400 billion a year with suppliers. Entering it without a plan means bidding for whatever appears. Entering it with one means knowing which contracts, which buyers and which routes before the first tender is written.
Services for private companies
Four ways in. One firm leading all of them.
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01
UK market entry for international companiesHeadquartered outside the UK
A structured entry into the UK public sector for companies based in Europe, North America, India and beyond: market fit, entity and partner decisions, registration, frameworks, first contracts and the relationships that follow.
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02
Strategic Public Sector GrowthThree phases over three years
A targeted roadmap to win public sector contracts: target contract definition, a 12 to 36 month pipeline, competitor and incumbent analysis, framework positioning and a phased action plan. Then market activation, and bids led to award.
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03
Framework onboardingG-Cloud 15 and the frameworks your buyers use
From nothing to a live framework listing: eligibility review, Central Digital Platform registration, service descriptions and pricing, evidence, submission and every clarification until you are listed.
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04
Bid leadership and tender writingPer opportunity or as Phase 3
Opportunity qualification, end to end bid leadership, bid pack development and commercial positioning for tenders, framework further competitions and call-offs, with support through clarification, evaluation and award.
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What winners do differently
The companies that win in the UK public sector are not the ones that bid most. They are the ones that chose first.
- They define the target before they search.Value bands, contract types, buyer organisations, sectors and delivery model, aligned to what the company can actually deliver. Everything else is filtered out before it costs a bid team's week.
- They know the re-procurement calendar.Public contracts expire on published dates, and the Procurement Act 2023 asks authorities to publish pipeline notices for larger contracts they expect to advertise. The buyers you want are visible months ahead.
- They hold the framework positions their buyers use.Many public buyers call off from frameworks and dynamic markets rather than run open tenders. A listing is the difference between being asked and reading about the award.
- They engage before the tender notice.Requirements are shaped during preliminary market engagement. The suppliers in the room at that stage are the ones the specification is written around.
- They write for the evaluation.Awards are made on the most advantageous tender. Quality, social value and delivery carry real weight against price, and a bid that answers the criteria as scored beats a brochure every time.
Sources: Procurement Act 2023; Cabinet Office guidance on notices, preliminary market engagement and award criteria.
The programme
A three-year growth programme, commissioned one phase at a time.
I
Strategic Public Sector Growth Plan
Define the target contract profile. Build a 12 to 36 month pipeline. Analyse competitors and incumbents. Identify and submit priority framework applications. Map contract expiries and re-procurements. Plan engagement and make initial introductions. Set the route to market and the next steps.
II
Market Activation and Relationship Development
Activate the pipeline through direct buyer engagement. Build and manage stakeholder relationships. Position ahead of procurements. Expand framework presence. Run the events and visibility plan.
III
Bid Execution and Conversion
Qualify opportunities against agreed criteria. Lead bids end to end and submit them. Develop the bid pack. Position commercially. Support through clarification, evaluation and award.
Selling to government
What is different about the UK public sector, and why it rewards preparation.
Transparency
Under the Procurement Act 2023 the buying cycle is published from pipeline notice to payment: planned procurements, market engagement, tender notices, awards, contract details, modifications and payments over £30,000. A supplier that reads the notices knows what every buyer is doing and when.
Evaluation
Contracts are awarded to the most advantageous tender. Authorities set and publish the criteria and weightings, and every tenderer receives an assessment summary explaining how it scored. Bids are won on the criteria as written, not on relationships alone.
Routes to market
Open tenders under the competitive flexible procedure, frameworks and open frameworks, dynamic markets and partner routes through incumbent suppliers. The right route depends on the buyer and the contract, and most companies need more than one.
Payment
The Act implies 30-day payment terms into public contracts and requires them to flow down the supply chain, so a subcontracting route is a real route. Source: Procurement Act 2023, section 68.
Standards and exclusion
Suppliers declare beneficial ownership, hold the certifications and insurance levels buyers ask for, and are checked against a central debarment list. Getting the paperwork right once, properly, removes a whole class of reasons to be excluded.
Social value
Social value, carbon reduction and local benefit are scored, not decorative. Companies that plan their commitments before they bid write them convincingly and deliver them without strain.
Source: Procurement Act 2023 and Cabinet Office guidance. Our page on the Act for private companies covers each point in more depth.
Sectors
Where the work concentrates.
Technology and SaaS
Cloud software, platforms and managed services sold through G-Cloud, other technology frameworks and open tenders.
Digital infrastructure
Networks, cloud hosting, cyber security and the programmes that move public services onto them.
Artificial intelligence and data
Data engineering, analytics and AI delivery for departments, local authorities, health bodies and their arm's length organisations.
Healthcare and life sciences
Digital health, diagnostics, devices and services procured by NHS bodies and integrated care systems.
Sustainability and ESG
Decarbonisation, energy, environmental services and the reporting that public bodies are now required to buy.
Professional and managed services
Consultancy, outsourced functions and specialist services bought through frameworks and dynamic markets.
How we work
Evidence first. Senior attention throughout.
I
The buyer's view.
We run procurement inside contracting authorities and implement the Procurement Act 2023 for them. We know how a panel reads a bid, what a board asks before it signs an award, and where a supplier's positioning lands.
II
Evidence, not opinion.
Every pipeline total, value band and contract share is sourced and traceable. Nothing is invented: no buyer names, incumbents, values or dates that cannot be evidenced.
III
Senior-led.
Senior consultants lead the workshops, the analysis and the presentations. Technology speeds up the search and the drafting. Judgement is what you are paying for.
Questions we are asked
Before you get in touch.
Do we need a UK entity before we start?
No. The first phase is a market entry decision and roadmap, and part of that work is establishing what the target contracts require. Where a UK entity, a partner or a framework position is the right route, the plan says so and says when.
How long does the programme take?
Phase 1 is a fixed scope with defined deliverables and a delivery date set at commissioning. The programme as a whole is planned over three years, with each phase commissioned separately, so you decide at each stage whether to continue.
What does it cost?
Engagements typically range from £25,000 to £60,000 excluding VAT, depending on the scale and complexity of the company and the market. A UK Public Sector Readiness Assessment is available as a first step, and its fee is credited against the full programme if you proceed. Framework onboarding and bid leadership are priced separately.
Do you write the bids?
Yes. Phase 1 identifies and submits the priority framework applications. Bids for individual procurements are led end to end in Phase 3, or as a standalone service if you already know what you are bidding for.
How is the market intelligence gathered?
We commission research from specialist UK public sector data providers, then add the layer that matters: capability fit, access route, likely contract share, partner requirement, stakeholders and priorities. Provider costs are normally included in the Phase 1 fee, and we do not disclose who the end client is unless you ask us to.
You also advise contracting authorities. Is that a conflict?
It is the reason the advice works. The authority work keeps the supplier advice honest about what buyers need and how evaluation panels read. Client work is confidential on both sides, we never carry one client's detail into another's, and where a real conflict would arise on a specific procurement we say so before we start.