Where public construction work is advertised
By law, public bodies have to advertise contracts over set values. You find them free on government sites:
- Contracts Finder for lower value work in England, over £12,000
- Find a Tender for higher value work across the UK
- Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI for the devolved nations
For the full difference between the two main sites, see Contracts Finder vs Find a Tender.
What changed under the Procurement Act 2023
The Procurement Act 2023 went live on 24 February 2025 and replaced the older rules. A few changes matter for bidders:
- Find a Tender is now the central platform. You register once, store your company details, and reuse them across bids
- Buyers publish more, earlier. New pipeline and planned procurement notices give you a heads up on work that has not been advertised yet
- If you lose a competitive bid, you are entitled to an assessment summary explaining how it scored. Use it to improve the next one
- Buyers can weigh past performance and exclude poor performers more easily, so your track record counts
Frameworks and dynamic markets
A lot of public construction is bought through frameworks and dynamic markets rather than one off tenders. Both are worth understanding.
Frameworks
A framework is a pre approved list of suppliers. Once you are on it, buyers can give you work through a quick call off or a mini competition, without running a full tender each time. A framework opens the door to many buyers, but it does not guarantee any work, and you can usually only apply during a set window.
Dynamic markets (formerly Dynamic Purchasing Systems)
A dynamic market works like a framework with one big difference: you can apply to join at any time, not just during a window. That suits smaller and specialist firms who missed a framework opening. You qualify to join, then compete in mini competitions when work comes up.
Why bids fail, and how to avoid it
- Chasing the wrong work: bidding for jobs that do not fit your size or trade wastes time you could spend on ones you can win
- Starting late: the best bids are planned from the moment the opportunity appears, not the night before the deadline
- Answering the question you wish they asked, not the one they did: read the scoring and answer it directly
- Weak track record evidence: keep case studies, references and accreditations ready to go
- Missing the compliance basics: insurances, health and safety, financial standing. Sort these once so they never cost you a bid
A better shot, in practice
- 1Watch the right sources daily, filtered to your trade, value band and region
- 2Use pipeline and planned notices to prepare before the tender opens
- 3Qualify hard: only bid what you can win and deliver
- 4Build a reusable bid library: company info, case studies, policies and accreditations
- 5Track deadlines so a good opportunity never slips
Finding the right tenders early, filtered to what you can actually win, is half the battle. That is what Strukta does: public tenders from Contracts Finder and Find a Tender, filtered to your trade and patch, with deadlines flagged. Pricing is published from £19.99 a month.