UK market entry for international companies
Access a £400 billion market, with the route in already mapped.
For technology, data and services companies headquartered in Europe, North America, India and the Middle East that want to sell to UK government, health, local authority and education buyers: a structured entry from market fit to first contracts.
Source: National Procurement Policy Statement, written ministerial statement to Parliament, 13 February 2025.
Why the UK
Sources: National Procurement Policy Statement, written ministerial statement, 13 February 2025; Procurement Act 2023.
£400 billion a year, bought in public on published rules, in English, under one law, with 30-day payment terms. Few markets are as large, as open or as well signposted for a company that knows how to read the signs.
What international companies get wrong
The market is open. The route in is not obvious.
Most international entrants lose time and money to the same five avoidable problems. We remove them before they cost anything.
- Structure decided by default.A UK entity is set up, or not, before anyone has checked what the target contracts actually require. We make it a finding of the plan: entity, branch, partner or direct, with the timing.
- Registration done wrong.Central Digital Platform accounts registered to an adviser, beneficial ownership declared incorrectly, missing D-U-N-S numbers, insurance below the levels buyers require. Each one surfaces at the worst moment, in a live procurement.
- No qualifying reference.G-Cloud and many frameworks require a signed customer reference for a public sector contract. Knowing which of your existing contracts qualifies, and how to get the signature through a government platform your customer's mail filter blocks, is half the application.
- Positioning that reads as foreign.Case studies, security and data protection answers, social value commitments and pricing written for another market. UK evaluation panels score against UK criteria, and they can tell.
- A listing with nobody behind it.A framework position is eligibility, not demand. Without buyer engagement, market activation and bids led properly, the listing sits there. Most do.
How entry works
Six stages, from decision to first contracts.
Market fit and the entry decision
Which UK buyers procure what you sell, at what value, through which routes, against which incumbents. A UK Public Sector Readiness Assessment gives you the decision and the evidence behind it before you commit to the programme.
Structure and compliance
Entity, partner and contracting structure decided by the target contracts. UK GDPR and data residency, Cyber Essentials and ISO positions, insurance levels and the policies buyers expect, mapped and closed.
Registration and frameworks
Central Digital Platform registration in an account that stays yours. The framework listings your buyers use, G-Cloud 15 and beyond, applied for and taken through to live.
The Strategic Public Sector Growth Plan
A prioritised 12 to 36 month pipeline, the re-procurement calendar, competitor and incumbent analysis, priority buyers and the account plan for each.
Market activation
Direct engagement with priority buyers, preliminary market engagement, events and visibility, partner and channel relationships where the route needs them.
First contracts
Opportunities qualified, bids led end to end, framework call-offs and further competitions won, and the delivery record that makes the second contract easier than the first.
What the UK expects of you
The requirements, in one place.
| Requirement | What it means for an international supplier |
|---|---|
| Central Digital Platform | One registration used across UK public procurement: legal entity, company number, beneficial owners holding 25 per cent or more, parent company, D-U-N-S number, core declarations. |
| Frameworks and dynamic markets | Many buyers only buy through them. G-Cloud for cloud services, Government Commercial Agency agreements for technology and professional services, sector consortia for health, housing and education. Open frameworks reopen to new suppliers. |
| Most advantageous tender | Awards weigh quality, social value, delivery and price against published criteria. Assessment summaries explain the score. Bids are written to the criteria, not the brochure. |
| Security and data | UK GDPR, data residency and processing locations, Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001 where held, and clear answers on hosting, access and sub-processors. |
| Social value and carbon | Scored in most procurements. Commitments planned before the bid, costed, and written so an evaluator can see delivery and measurement. Carbon reduction plans where central government buyers require them. |
| Payment and performance | 30-day payment terms implied into public contracts and flowed down the supply chain. Key performance indicators published for larger contracts, and performance on the public record. |
Sources: Procurement Act 2023; Cabinet Office guidance on the Central Digital Platform, award criteria and transparency; G-Cloud framework documents.
Why Nexus for market entry
We have taken international suppliers through every step of this.
- A full record on G-Cloud 15.Every application we submitted for international technology suppliers was accepted: registration, references, evidence, service content and clarifications handled end to end.
- The buyer's view.We run procurement inside UK contracting authorities. We know how a panel reads a submission from an unfamiliar supplier, and what removes the hesitation.
- Commissioned market intelligence.UK contract data, incumbents, values and expiry dates from specialist providers, interpreted for your capability, your access route and your likely share. The end client is not disclosed to providers unless you want it to be.
- Working across time zones.Workshops and reviews scheduled for your leadership team's day, and a single senior point of contact throughout.
- Confidential by default.Client work is never carried from one client into another's, and where a real conflict would arise on a specific procurement we say so before we start.
Questions we are asked
About entering the UK public sector.
Can a company based outside the UK sell to the UK public sector?
Yes. Suppliers registered overseas can register on the Central Digital Platform, apply to frameworks such as G-Cloud and bid for UK public contracts, provided the service is available to UK buyers and the company can contract lawfully in the UK. Whether a UK entity helps is a question of the target contracts and the buyers' expectations, and it is one of the first things the plan answers.
Do we need a UK public sector customer before we can get on a framework?
For G-Cloud a signed Technical Ability Certificate from a public sector customer is required before you can contract through the framework. We identify which of your existing contracts qualifies, and where none does yet, the plan sequences the route to a first contract that will.
How long does market entry take?
Registration and a framework application are measured in weeks and depend on the framework's window. A first contract depends on the pipeline: some buyers are procuring what you sell this quarter, others in eighteen months. The plan shows you both, so the timeline is a decision rather than a hope.
What does it cost?
Growth programmes typically range from £25,000 to £60,000 excluding VAT depending on scale and complexity, with a UK Public Sector Readiness Assessment available as a first step and credited against the programme. Framework onboarding is priced per application, from £9,000 excluding VAT.
Which sectors do you work in?
Technology and SaaS, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence and data, healthcare and life sciences, sustainability and ESG, and professional and managed services. Buyers range from central government departments to local authorities, NHS bodies, police, housing associations and universities.
Do you provide legal, tax or immigration advice?
No. We work alongside your legal and tax advisers on entity, contracting and data questions, and we tell you when a point needs them.