Category · CPV division 64
Postal & telecomms
A very large market of 475 active suppliers, currently cooling off. Figures cover the last 24 months of UK public-sector notices.
Notices · 24mo
1,562▼ 26%
Awarded value
£21.0bn
Avg. contract
£42.5m
Notices / mo
65
Med. publish→award
—
Active buyers
636
Market signals
A very large market of 475 active suppliers, currently cooling off.
Trendbuyers & suppliers
Publishing is down 26% month-on-month
79 notices in the last 30 days vs 107 in the 30 before — a quieter spell; expect fewer fresh opportunities near-term.
Timingbuyers & suppliers
£4.1bn of contracts expire within ~6 months
134 tracked contracts end in the next two quarters. Incumbents will be defending; challengers should be engaging those buyers now — recompetes are usually shaped months before the notice.
Opportunityfor suppliers
A fragmented supplier market
The top 3 suppliers hold only 16% of awarded value across 475 active suppliers — low concentration keeps this market open to new entrants.
Concentrationfor suppliers
3 buyers account for 86% of spend
Demand is concentrated, led by Crown Commercial Service — relationships with a short list of buyers decide most of this market.
Opportunityfor suppliers
92 notices are open for bids today
479 more are pre-tender/planned. The forward pipeline below shows how they distribute by quarter.
Signals are computed directly from the last-24-month figures on this page — thresholds, not opinions. Refreshed daily.
Market trend
Monthly notices (line) against awarded value (bars)
Total notices Awarded £m (aggregate)
Pipeline & renewal calendar
Forward view — planned, currently open, and contracts up for renewal
479 planned92 open now590 in evaluation3 awarded in 30d (£52.2m)
Q3 '26
Q4 '26
Q1 '27
Q2 '27
Q3 '27
Q4 '27
Q1 '28
Q2 '28
Expiring
Contracts ending
£51.2m
54 contracts
£4.1bn
80 contracts
£421.2m
103 contracts
£173.7m
61 contracts
£19.0bn
62 contracts
£1.7bn
53 contracts
£335.5m
74 contracts
£593.7m
53 contracts
Open
Bid deadlines
42
live opportunities
3
live opportunities
3
live opportunities
2
live opportunities
2
live opportunities
—
1
live opportunities
6
live opportunities
Planned
Future notices
35
pipeline notices
6
pipeline notices
11
pipeline notices
8
pipeline notices
1
pipeline notices
3
pipeline notices
1
pipeline notices
—
Quarter cells stacked: expiring £ value (top), open notices, planned notices. The current quarter is highlighted.
Upcoming contract expiries
Recompete radar — incumbents and end dates for the next 24 months
| Contract | Buyer | Incumbent supplier | Annual £ | Expires | Urgency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Travel, Transport, Accommodation & Venue Solutions | Crown Commercial Service | — | £4.2bn/yr | 30 Sept 2027 in 441 days | Forward · alert me |
Network Services 3 Award Notice for Lot 1a, Lot 1b, Lot 2a, Lot 3a, Lot 3b, Lot 4a, Lot 4b, Lot 4c, Lot 4d and Lot 4e | Crown Commercial Service | — | £1.6bn/yr | 17 Jul 2027 in 366 days | Forward · alert me |
Mobile Voice and Data Services | Crown Commercial Service | — | £625.4m/yr | 12 Dec 2026 in 149 days | Soon · 4–6mo lead time |
Postal Services and Solutions | Crown Commercial Service | — | £400.3m/yr | 02 Oct 2027 in 443 days | Forward · alert me |
Provision of a Telecommunications service for the Emergency Services of England, Scotland and Wales | ATAMIS LTD | Motorola/AIRWAVE SOLUTIONS LTD | £390.7m/yr | 31 Dec 2026 in 168 days | Soon · 4–6mo lead time |
GIS Programme - Cross-Regional Supplier Framework (Type C)) | British Telecommunications plc | British Telecommunications PLC | £199.6m/yr | 01 Jul 2028 in 716 days | Forward · alert me |
Language Services | Crown Commercial Service | — | £83.2m/yr | 08 May 2028 in 662 days | Forward · alert me |
676_25 Total Facilities Management | Espo | Vertas Group Ltd | £83.4m/yr | 30 Apr 2028 in 654 days | Forward · alert me |
TV Licensing Postal Services | BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) | WHISTL UK LIMITED | £56.4m/yr | 31 Mar 2027 in 258 days | Watch · plan engagement |
Prisoner PayPhone | Ministry of Justice | British Telecommunications PLC | £24.6m/yr | 31 May 2027 in 319 days | Forward · alert me |
Secure Delivery of Passports in the UK | Crown Commercial Service | ROYAL MAIL GROUP LIMITED | £21.0m/yr | 25 Jan 2028 in 558 days | Forward · alert me |
Exchequer Services | London Borough of Bromley | Liberata UK Limited | £12.9m/yr | 31 Mar 2028 in 624 days | Forward · alert me |
Multi Temperature Distribution | NHS Supply Chain : NHS Supply Chain | BFS Group T/A Bidvest Foodservice | £20.0m/yr | 12 Mar 2028 in 605 days | Forward · alert me |
HMPO Passport Secure Delivery International | Home Office | DHL GLOBAL FORWARDING UK LTD | £12.7m/yr | 30 Apr 2028 in 654 days | Forward · alert me |
Courier Services for Blood, Blood Products and Tissues | NHS Blood & Transplant (NHSBT) | KUEHNE + NAGEL LIMITED | £17.3m/yr | 31 Mar 2027 in 258 days | Watch · plan engagement |
CA14075 - Multifunctional Print Devices and Associated Digital Transformation Solutions Framework | University of Essex | — | £15.2m/yr | 08 Sept 2027 in 419 days | Forward · alert me |
The ECHO2 Programme: Network Integration Services Procurement | Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office | Fujitsu Services Limited | £8.8m/yr | 14 Mar 2027 in 241 days | Watch · plan engagement |
GIS Programme - Regional Supplier Contract - Cornwall & Isles of Scilly | Wildanet Limited | WILDANET Ltd | £13.9m/yr | 31 Mar 2027 in 258 days | Watch · plan engagement |
The ECHO2 Programme: Network Integration Services Procurement | BRITISH COUNCIL(THE) | Fujitsu Services Limited | £5.5m/yr | 14 Mar 2027 in 241 days | Watch · plan engagement |
Provision of a Face to Face Offline Channel Shift Service | Government Digital Service | Post Office Limited | £6.3m/yr | 25 Jul 2026 in 9 days | Hot · prep now |
LAA Defence Solicitor Contact Centre and Civil Legal Advice Contract | Ministry of Justice | HINDUJA GLOBAL SOLUTIONS UK LIMITED | £6.1m/yr | 31 Oct 2027 in 472 days | Forward · alert me |
HO Central Postal Services | Home Office | Royal Mail | £8.4m/yr | 15 Sept 2026 in 61 days | Hot · prep now |
203_25 Technology Enabled Care Products and Services | Espo | — | £8.0m/yr | 31 May 2027 in 319 days | Forward · alert me |
Voice Implementation and Integration Partner (VIIP) | Ministry of Justice | Insight Direct (UK) Limited | £4.3m/yr | 29 Jan 2027 in 197 days | Watch · plan engagement |
His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Contact Center as a Service | Ministry of Justice | Kerv Experience Limited | £3.8m/yr | 30 Oct 2027 in 471 days | Forward · alert me |
Main buyers
Top of 636 active buyers by awarded value
| Buyer | Awarded | Notices |
|---|---|---|
| Crown Commercial Service | £14.3bn | 11 |
| Home Office | £2.7bn | 17 |
| British Telecommunications plc | £1.1bn | 3 |
| Building Digital UK | £493.2m | 7 |
| Ministry of Justice | £364.3m | 28 |
| Ministry of Defence, DIO, | £322.6m | 10 |
| DfT, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency | £316.1m | 2 |
| Department for Work & Pensions | £275.3m | 17 |
| Espo | £266.0m | 8 |
| NHS England | £213.7m | 18 |
| Quickline Communications Limited | £119.0m | 1 |
| HS2 | £80.5m | 2 |
Leading suppliers
Top of 475 active suppliers by awarded value
| Supplier | Awarded | Contracts | Top buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Telecommunications PLC | £1.7bn | 37 | Building Digital UK |
| IBM United Kingdom Limited | £1.4bn | 2 | The Secretary of State for the Home Department |
| BFBS | £320.7m | 1 | Ministry of Defence, DIO, |
| DHL Parcel UK t/a UK Mail | £318.4m | 3 | Derbyshire County Council |
| Route 101 Limited | £265.3m | 2 | Department for Work & Pensions |
| GXO Logistics UK Limited | £210.5m | 1 | NHS England |
| VODAFONE LIMITED | £144.7m | 35 | FCDO Services |
| Quickline Communications Limited | £119.0m | 1 | Quickline Communications Limited |
| Hitachi Rail GTS UK Limited and Telent Technology Services Limited Joint Venture | £80.5m | 2 | HS2 |
| Atos | £58.5m | 1 | Ministry of Justice |
| Arvato Limited | £58.3m | 1 | Department for Education |
| Sharp Clinical Services UK Ltd | £34.5m | 2 | Nottingham Trent University |
Buying routes
How value is awarded — open tender, framework, direct
contract96%
call off4%
Contract value distribution
Awards by size bucket
<£25k£25k-100k£100k-500k£500k-2m£2m-10m£10m-50m£50m+
Publish → award lead time
How long tenders take to decide
<30d30-6060-9090-120120-180180-270270+
Publishing seasonality
Notices per month across the last 3 years
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2024
59
49
43
72
69
39
50
57
46
50
43
50
2025
72
76
66
56
83
63
67
39
65
59
37
46
2026
51
105
94
78
92
99
46
0
0
0
0
0
May and Feb are the loudest months. Plan submissions and BD outreach around these spikes.
Regional spread
Awarded value by buyer region
London£16.5bn79%
Wales£326.3m2%
West Midlands£157.6m1%
Scotland£157.1m1%
South West£89.4m0%
East of England£65.6m0%
North West£51.4m0%
Yorkshire & Humber£32.1m0%
South East£14.1m0%
East Midlands£13.3m0%
North East£10.3m0%
Northern Ireland—0%
Inside this division
Largest sub-categories by awarded value
Adjacent markets
Divisions sharing the most suppliers with this one
72IT services257 shared suppliers48Software packages243 shared suppliers32Radio & TV equipment228 shared suppliers79Business services216 shared suppliers50Repair & maintenance169 shared suppliers51Installation services155 shared suppliers30Office & computing134 shared suppliers35Security & defence116 shared suppliers