UK public buyers ranked by bids
Of the UK public buyers with tenders open now, 273 have enough history (eight or more earlier open tenders) for us to rank how many bids they usually draw. Low numbers mean fewer rivals on the buyer's earlier tenders; the figure describes the buyer, not any one tender.
Which buyers usually draw the fewest bids?
Which buyers usually draw the most bids?
Which sectors have the fewest bids?
The median of the usual bid counts of the buyers with open tenders in each sector.
| Name | Median buyer's usual bids | Open tenders |
|---|---|---|
| Transport services | 3 | 12 |
| Clothing & footwear | 3.5 | 10 |
| Lab equipment | 3.5 | 12 |
| Post & telecoms | 3.5 | 34 |
| Public administration | 3.5 | 9 |
| Vehicles | 3.8 | 25 |
| Business services | 4 | 100 |
| Catering & hospitality | 4 | 20 |
| Education & training | 4 | 58 |
| Furniture | 4 | 15 |
| Grounds & agricultural | 4 | 30 |
| Health & social care | 4 | 143 |
| IT services | 4 | 40 |
| Industrial machinery | 4 | 31 |
| Medical equipment | 4 | 18 |
| Office & IT equipment | 4 | 7 |
| Research & development | 4 | 43 |
| Software | 4 | 35 |
| Sport & music | 4 | 18 |
| Transport support | 4 | 7 |
| Real estate | 4.2 | 12 |
| Architecture & engineering | 4.5 | 70 |
| Community services | 4.5 | 25 |
| Repair & maintenance | 4.5 | 67 |
| Cleaning, waste & environment | 4.8 | 62 |
| Construction materials | 4.8 | 35 |
| Construction | 5 | 240 |
| Recreation & culture | 5 | 11 |
| Electrical equipment | 5.5 | 20 |
| Telecoms equipment | 5.5 | 9 |
| Finance & insurance | 6 | 28 |
Which regions have the fewest bids?
| Name | Median buyer's usual bids | Open tenders |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 2 | 50 |
| Scotland | 3.5 | 100 |
| North East | 4 | 120 |
| Wales | 4 | 128 |
| South East | 4.5 | 113 |
| South West | 4.5 | 87 |
| West Midlands | 4.5 | 76 |
| East of England | 5 | 89 |
| London | 5 | 146 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 5 | 100 |
| East Midlands | 5.5 | 74 |
| North West | 6 | 109 |
BidCount is not affiliated with the government. Bid counts are medians over each buyer's earlier open procurements on Find a Tender (2025-26), one figure per procurement. See how we work this out and the open data.
How we work this out
Open tenders, planned tenders and awards come from Find a Tender and Contracts Finder (Open Government Licence v3.0). “Bids” is the median number of bids on the buyer's earlier open tenders (Find a Tender, 2025-26). It describes the buyer's history, not this tender, and is not a forecast. Contracts ending are from award notices and may be extended or re-tendered early or late. Always check the official notice. Updated 9 Oct 2026. Operated by OKII.
To cite this page: Which UK public buyers draw the fewest bids, BidCount, https://bidcount.co.uk/rankings, from Find a Tender and Contracts Finder data (Open Government Licence v3.0), updated 9 Oct 2026.