Category · CPV division 73
R&D services
A very large market of 1,919 active suppliers, currently steady. Figures cover the last 24 months of UK public-sector notices.
Notices · 24mo
5,988▲ 13%
Awarded value
£11.6bn
Avg. contract
£3.7m
Notices / mo
250
Med. publish→award
—
Active buyers
789
Market signals
A very large market of 1,919 active suppliers, currently steady.
Timingbuyers & suppliers
£2.8bn of contracts expire within ~6 months
451 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 6% of awarded value across 1,919 active suppliers — low concentration keeps this market open to new entrants.
Concentrationfor suppliers
3 buyers account for 67% of spend
Demand is concentrated, led by Government Commercial Agency — relationships with a short list of buyers decide most of this market.
Opportunityfor suppliers
147 notices are open for bids today
858 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
858 planned147 open now2,761 in evaluation27 awarded in 30d (£10.7m)
Q3 '26
Q4 '26
Q1 '27
Q2 '27
Q3 '27
Q4 '27
Q1 '28
Q2 '28
Expiring
Contracts ending
£1.8bn
232 contracts
£993.6m
219 contracts
£184.1m
260 contracts
£546.8m
134 contracts
£2.1bn
122 contracts
£151.4m
80 contracts
£85.6m
122 contracts
£66.2m
53 contracts
Open
Bid deadlines
115
live opportunities
1
live opportunities
3
live opportunities
1
live opportunities
1
live opportunities
5
live opportunities
—
4
live opportunities
Planned
Future notices
59
pipeline notices
15
pipeline notices
5
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Construction Professional Services | Government Commercial Agency | — | £357.1m/yr | 29 Jul 2026 in 13 days | Hot · prep now |
Management Consultancy Framework Four (MCF4) | Crown Commercial Service | — | £851.7m/yr | 28 Jul 2027 in 377 days | Forward · alert me |
Innovation Chain North Framework (Also known as "ICN") | Great Places Housing Group Limited | Buttress Architects Ltd | £375.3m/yr | 03 Jul 2028 in 718 days | Forward · alert me |
Debt Resolution Services - Lot 1 extension | Crown Commercial Service | — | £645.0m/yr | 13 Dec 2026 in 150 days | Soon · 4–6mo lead time |
NOE CPC Consultancy and Associated Services | North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative (NOE CPC) | Sortified CIC | £108.8m/yr | 08 Jun 2027 in 327 days | Forward · alert me |
664_25 Consultancy Services | Espo | — | £160.3m/yr | 31 Aug 2027 in 411 days | Forward · alert me |
SELT 2019 - ROW (ISC) - Contract Extension 2024 | Home Office | IELTS SELT Consortium | £25.6m/yr | 03 Nov 2026 in 110 days | Soon · 4–6mo lead time |
SELT 2019 - ROW (ISC) - Contract Extension 2026 | Home Office | IELTS SELT Consortium | £7.7m/yr | 03 Nov 2027 in 475 days | Forward · alert me |
Transforming Organisations, Partnerships, and Systems | East Of England NHS Collaborative Hub | HEALTH SYSTEMS SUPPORT LIMITED | £13.4m/yr | 23 Apr 2027 in 281 days | Forward · alert me |
The Evidence Fund | Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office | Price Waterhouse Coopers LLP | £9.4m/yr | 30 Nov 2026 in 137 days | Soon · 4–6mo lead time |
PROVISION OF LINGUISTIC SERVICES FOR UK MOD GLOBAL OPERATIONS | Crown Commercial Service | WORLDWIDE LANGUAGE RESOURCES LTD | £4.5m/yr | 30 Jun 2028 in 715 days | Forward · alert me |
Provision of the English Housing Survey & Associated Research | DEPARTMENT FOR LEVELLING UP, HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES | NATIONAL CENTRE FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH | £5.6m/yr | 31 Dec 2026 in 168 days | Soon · 4–6mo lead time |
Road Travel Times Data Service | DfTc - Department for Transport | Inseego UK LTD (formerly C Track LTD) | £10.9m/yr | 31 Mar 2027 in 258 days | Watch · plan engagement |
SELT 2019 - UK (TCL) - Contract Extension 2026 | Home Office | Trinity College London | £3.0m/yr | 03 Nov 2027 in 475 days | Forward · alert me |
NHS Digital Patient Survey | NHS Digital : Department of Health and Social Care | NATIONAL CENTRE FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH | £2.7m/yr | 31 Oct 2027 in 472 days | Forward · alert me |
TREDSTONE | Defence Science and Technology Laboratory | XEWLI LIMITED | £5.4m/yr | 31 Mar 2028 in 624 days | Forward · alert me |
Support to Phase 2 of RWM Plutonium Integrated Project | CTM Portal for the NDA Shared Services Alliance | Jacobs UK Ltd | £3.2m/yr | 15 Jul 2027 in 364 days | Forward · alert me |
STEP Ukraine Programme Evaluation & MHCLG Evaluation Services | DEPARTMENT FOR LEVELLING UP, HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES | ALMA Economics Limited | £9.4m/yr | 18 Aug 2026 in 33 days | Hot · prep now |
Systems-Wide Evaluation of Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Services | DEPARTMENT FOR LEVELLING UP, HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES | CENTRE FOR HOMELESSNESS IMPACT | £4.6m/yr | 08 Jan 2027 in 176 days | Soon · 4–6mo lead time |
Attendance Mentors Expansion | Department for Education | Empowering Education International Limited | £7.2m/yr | 25 Oct 2026 in 101 days | Soon · 4–6mo lead time |
Provision of the Family Resources Survey (FRS) 2024 - 2027 | Office for National Statistics | NatCen Social Research | £4.3m/yr | 31 Mar 2027 in 258 days | Watch · plan engagement |
T0624 DBFO Contract Completion Technical Assessment | National Highways | WSP UK Limited | £3.8m/yr | 31 Mar 2028 in 624 days | Forward · alert me |
project_8151 - Evidence for Health - KP and Federal Level | Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office | PALLADIUM INTERNATIONAL LIMITED | £3.0m/yr | 15 Feb 2027 in 214 days | Watch · plan engagement |
SELT 2019 - UK (ISC) - Contract Extension 2024 | Home Office | IELTS SELT Consortium | £1.5m/yr | 03 Nov 2026 in 110 days | Soon · 4–6mo lead time |
Survey and Focus Group Research | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | Deltapoll | £5.0m/yr | 06 Jul 2027 in 355 days | Forward · alert me |
Main buyers
Top of 789 active buyers by awarded value
| Buyer | Awarded | Notices |
|---|---|---|
| Government Commercial Agency | £3.4bn | 26 |
| Crown Commercial Service | £2.4bn | 20 |
| Hyde Housing Association Limited | £2.0bn | 2 |
| Great Places Housing Group Limited | £1.5bn | 1 |
| DEFRA | £347.6m | 44 |
| Home Office | £340.7m | 77 |
| Espo | £320.0m | 3 |
| Ministry of Defence, DIO, | £142.8m | 132 |
| National Highways | £122.4m | 257 |
| GREATER MANCHESTER EDUCATION TRUST | £120.0m | 4 |
| Met Office | £88.7m | 54 |
| Department for Energy Security & Net Zero | £86.6m | 229 |
Leading suppliers
Top of 1,919 active suppliers by awarded value
| Supplier | Awarded | Contracts | Top buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| FERA SCIENCE LIMITED | £348.1m | 23 | Food Standards Agency |
| IELTS SELT Consortium | £256.4m | 4 | Home Office |
| RHEINMETALL BAE SYSTEMS LAND LIMITED (RBSL) | £109.6m | 1 | Ministry of Defence, DIO, |
| WSP UK Limited | £72.4m | 93 | National Highways |
| STANTEC UK LIMITED | £40.2m | 6 | GREATER MANCHESTER EDUCATION TRUST |
| Ricardo-AEA Ltd | £37.4m | 48 | Environment Agency |
| CPC PROJECT SERVICES LIMITED | £37.3m | 4 | Hyde Housing Association Limited |
| Ridge and Partners LLP | £37.1m | 11 | Fusion21 Members Consortium |
| Savills UK Limited | £37.1m | 4 | Hyde Housing Association Limited |
| Arcus Consulting LLP | £37.0m | 9 | Fusion21 Members Consortium |
| Verian Group UK Ltd | £33.7m | 28 | Department for Energy Security & Net Zero |
| ARCADIS CONSULTING UK LTD | £30.2m | 17 | National Highways |
Buying routes
How value is awarded — open tender, framework, direct
contract95%
call off5%
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
349
424
347
267
252
262
281
283
291
346
284
296
2025
314
330
238
221
278
268
255
216
254
267
258
221
2026
211
169
205
166
157
201
117
0
0
0
0
0
Feb and Oct are the loudest months. Plan submissions and BD outreach around these spikes.
Regional spread
Awarded value by buyer region
London£8.1bn70%
West Midlands£130.3m1%
South West£36.6m0%
North West£16.1m0%
South East£15.8m0%
East Midlands£5.8m0%
East of England£4.7m0%
North East£4.5m0%
Yorkshire & Humber£3.1m0%
Scotland£1.5m0%
Northern Ireland£1.4m0%
Wales£389k0%
Inside this division
Largest sub-categories by awarded value
730Research and development services and related consultancy services2,477 notices£6.4bn732Research and development services and related consultancy services2,179 notices£4.5bn734Research and development services and related consultancy services224 notices£449.2m731Research and development services and related consultancy services1,701 notices£354.8m733Research and development services and related consultancy services305 notices£101.8m
Adjacent markets
Divisions sharing the most suppliers with this one
79Business services1,018 shared suppliers71Architecture & engineering829 shared suppliers72IT services674 shared suppliers90Sewage & refuse436 shared suppliers45Construction work380 shared suppliers80Education & training284 shared suppliers75Administration services277 shared suppliers70Real estate246 shared suppliers