UK Public Sector Contracts — £1,000,000 – £5,000,000
Major UK public sector contracts — substantive scored evaluation, framework competitions, dedicated bid teams typically required.
For: Established suppliers and primes with dedicated bid functions targeting major public sector work.
The £1m–£5m band sits squarely above all UK procurement thresholds. Contracts here typically come through major framework call-offs (CCS, NHS SBS, SCAPE) or open procedures with substantive bid documents — often 80-200 pages of response across selection and award stages. Quality typically counts for 60-80% with formal sub-weighted criteria.
10-16 weeks
Typical evaluation
Typically 60-80%
Quality weighting
5-10
Typical bidders
120-300 hours
Avg bid effort
Live UK contracts £1,000,000 – £5,000,000
DOJ NIPS – Supply, Delivery and Disposal of Uniforms for Operational Staff
The Repair of Operational Infrastructure Equipment
GMCA 1134 North West Community Flood Resilience Engagement Support Services
Day Works Civils
Day Works Civils
Medical, Life and Local Staff Workmen Compensation Insurances for British Embassy Beirut
Integrated Advocacy Services
Day Works Civils
Responsive Plastering Works
Suffolk Alternative Provision Tier One (Outreach) Service
Tree Surveys & Associated Works
Community Led Improvement Programme (CLIP) Framework Agreement
Citywide Weed Control
PSD16226 Executive & Senior Manager Search & Selection
INVITATION TO TENDER (ITT) for the provision of Professional consultancy services to manage delivery of Herefordshire Council's school building maintenance programme
How to win contracts £1,000,000 – £5,000,000
Win themes from day one
At this contract size, win-themes and storyboarding before drafting any text is essential. Generic "we are committed to quality" responses don't score above the mid-bracket.
Named delivery team
Buyers heavily weight named senior delivery presence. Don't offer "a team to be confirmed" — name the partner/director leading delivery and put their CV in.
Schedule a red-team review
Independent review against the published criteria a week before submission catches 70% of weak responses. Build it into your bid plan.
FAQs
What procurement procedure do £1m-£5m contracts use?
Usually restricted procedure (SQ + ITT) or framework mini-competition. Open procedure is less common at this size due to the volume of bids it attracts.
How much bid effort should I plan?
Realistically 120-300 person-hours across selection and award stages. Bigger if the technical solution requires significant design or pricing modelling.
Do I need to be on a framework for £1m+ contracts?
Not necessarily — direct procurements still appear on Find a Tender Service. But many £1m+ awards now route through CCS, NHS SBS, SCAPE or sector-specific frameworks for speed.
Browse contracts by value
Under £50k
SMEs, sole traders and first-time bidders looking for access…
£50k–£250k
Established UK SMEs and growing suppliers with 1–3 years of …
£250k–£1m
Mid-market suppliers with established public sector bidding …
Over £5m
Primes and consortia bidding for strategic UK public sector …
See also: all live contracts, our closing this week page, or browse by sector.