UK Find a Tender Service 2026: Post-Brexit Procurement Explained

What is UK FTS

The UK Find a Tender Service (FTS) is the UK government's official portal for publishing high-value public procurement notices — the direct replacement for TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) that UK public bodies used before Brexit. FTS launched on 1 January 2021, the moment the UK left the EU procurement regime, and is administered by the Cabinet Office in England and by equivalent devolved bodies in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

FTS is where every UK contract notice above the current threshold (£139,588 for central government supplies/services, higher for works and utilities) must be published. Below that threshold, notices publish to Contracts Finder (England-wide) or Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales, or eTendersNI. FTS + Contracts Finder together capture essentially every meaningful UK public sector opportunity.

Who bids on UK FTS

The full spread of UK public sector suppliers uses FTS. Central government (Cabinet Office, HMRC, Ministry of Justice), NHS trusts, local councils, universities, police forces, transport authorities, and defence agencies all publish through it. Typical bidder profiles:

• IT and digital consultancies — GDS-style transformation work, cloud services, cybersecurity. Sold through DOS (Digital Outcomes and Specialists) and G-Cloud frameworks as well as standalone RFPs.
• Construction and facilities management — school building, hospital estates, road maintenance, cleaning. Often framework-based.
• Health services — clinical, non-clinical, and equipment supply to NHS trusts.
• Management consultancy — well represented; the Consultancy Playbook shapes how central government engages.
• Manufactured goods — PPE, vehicles, uniforms, catering.

Contract values range from the threshold up to multi-hundred-million-pound frameworks (Crown Commercial Service's technology portfolio, HS2, transport infrastructure).

Registration walkthrough

FTS itself is publicly searchable — no login required to view notices. Bidding, however, always goes through a separate eProcurement platform chosen by the contracting authority (typically Jaggaer, ProContract, In-Tend, Bravo, Delta or one of the government-owned platforms).

1. Register on FTS as a supplier if you want tailored alerts — free, straightforward.
2. Register on Contracts Finder similarly — many notices below the FTS threshold live there.
3. Register on frequently-used eProcurement platforms. Once you've bid on Jaggaer for one authority, your profile is portable across others using the same platform. Same for ProContract etc.
4. Consider a Crown Commercial Service framework listing. Frameworks like G-Cloud, Digital Marketplace, and CCS Consultancy set-asides are the fastest route to small-value government revenue. Application windows open periodically.
5. SQ template ready. Selection Questionnaire (SQ) — the UK's post-Brexit replacement for the ESPD. Prepare once, reuse.

Notice types you'll see

• UK1 — Contract Notice — the standard RFP.
• UK2 — Prior Information Notice — advance warning of an upcoming procurement.
• UK3 — Contract Award Notice — records the winner and value.
• UK4 — Contract Modification Notice — modifications above threshold require publication.
• UK5 — Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency Notice — direct-award justification.
• Concessions notices — separate stream for long-term concession contracts.

Thresholds and CPV codes

Financial thresholds for FTS publication (2024/25 cycle, GBP):

• Central government — supplies/services: £139,588
• Sub-central (local authorities, NHS) — supplies/services: £214,904
• Works: £5,372,609
• Utilities — supplies/services: £429,809
• Concessions: £5,372,609

The UK retained CPV codes for FTS notices — no divergence from the EU classification. You can search by CPV directly, though many buyers use free-text keywords instead. Standard EU thresholds convert to GBP at fixed rates set biennially.

The Procurement Act 2023

The Procurement Act 2023 came into force in October 2024 and significantly reshapes UK public procurement:

• Consolidated regulation — one Act replaces the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 + Utilities Contracts Regulations + Concession Contracts Regulations + Defence and Security Regulations.
• New "most advantageous tender" (MAT) standard replacing "most economically advantageous tender" (MEAT). Allows social value + strategic priorities to weigh more heavily.
• Public debarment register — poorly-performing suppliers can be excluded.
• New notice types — Pipeline Notice, Preliminary Market Engagement Notice, Transparency Notice.
• KPI publication — contracting authorities must publish contract KPIs (over £5M) to increase transparency of ongoing performance.

Deadlines and how to submit

Deadlines mirror EU procedure baselines: minimum 30 days for open procedures, 25 days if using an ITT electronic system, longer where market complexity requires. Bidding is universally digital via the chosen eProcurement platform — email submissions are essentially extinct for UK central government.

Late submissions are auto-rejected. Most eProcurement platforms lock the upload button at the second on the deadline. Test your file uploads at least 24 hours before the deadline — a single large PDF hitting portal timeout at 4:59 PM on deadline day is a career-ending story you'll hear from every bid manager.

Winning bid tips

1. Social value now matters. Since 2021, central government contracts must consider social value (min. 10% of MEAT scoring). Reference PPN 06/20 and the Social Value Model — 5 themes, 27 desired outcomes.
2. Cyber Essentials is table stakes. Most IT-adjacent procurements require Cyber Essentials (Plus for higher-sensitivity contracts). Get certified before you bid, not after.
3. Understand the framework you're bidding via. G-Cloud is direct-award friendly, DOS is competition-heavy, DPS's have different call-off rules — read the framework terms.
4. Public procurement is transparent. Use Contracts Finder's award data to see who won last time and at what value. Free competitive intelligence.
5. NHS is a different animal. Provider Selection Regime (PSR) since 2024 allows non-competitive award of most-suitable-provider healthcare services. Understand the regime before pursuing NHS clinical work.
6. Small business set-asides. Government targets 33% procurement spend with SMEs by 2033. If you're SME, say so and quantify your SME status in the SQ.

Common mistakes

• Reading a Contracts Finder notice thinking it's the FTS notice. Contracts Finder is below-threshold; the compliance regime differs.
• Uploading past the platform deadline. No grace, no exceptions.
• Skipping the SQ Part 3 (exclusions). Ticking wrong or leaving blank rejects the bid at gate.
• Missing Cyber Essentials. Standard requirement for IT contracts; missing certification is auto-fail.
• Ignoring the Modern Slavery Act statement. Bidders over £36M turnover must have a published statement — evaluators verify.
• Overlooking devolved variance. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own portals + variations to the Act.
• Not reading Contract Award Notices for market intel. Every award you missed is data on what the buyer values.

Where TenderYeti fits in

Between FTS and Contracts Finder, UK public procurement generates ~600,000 notices a year (a quarter of them on FTS above threshold). TenderYeti indexes both streams, plus Scotland/Wales/NI equivalents, and applies AI relevance scoring so your daily digest is only the notices actually within your capability window. See our live UK FTS coverage and Contracts Finder coverage for current volume.

Frequently asked questions