Procurement7 min read

Find a Tender Service: A Complete Guide for UK Suppliers

Find a Tender Service (FTS) is the UK's official portal for publishing public procurement notices for contracts above the relevant financial thresholds. Replacing the EU's TED after Brexit, it is now the primary source for high-value public sector contract opportunities in the UK. This guide explains how FTS works and how to use it effectively.

What Is Find a Tender Service?

Find a Tender Service (FTS) is operated by the Cabinet Office and was launched in January 2021 to replace the EU's OJEU tender notification system following the UK's departure from the EU. All UK public sector contracting authorities are legally required to publish contract opportunities above the current procurement thresholds on FTS. For central government, the services and supplies threshold is approximately £138,760. For sub-central authorities including local government and the NHS, the threshold is approximately £213,477.

What Types of Notices Are Published on FTS?

Prior Information Notices (PINs) — early market engagement notices signalling an upcoming procurement. Suppliers can often request to be included in market engagement at this stage
Contract Notices — the formal advertisement of a tender opportunity, starting the submission clock
Award Notices — published after contract award, showing the winning supplier and contract value. Invaluable for competitive intelligence
Voluntary Transparency Notices — published for contracts awarded without competition, providing visibility of direct awards

How to Search FTS Effectively

FTS can be searched by keyword, CPV code, contracting authority, location, and contract value. CPV codes are the most precise way to find relevant opportunities — they categorise procurement by type of product or service. Identify the CPV codes most relevant to your services and save them as search filters. Set up email alerts so you are notified as soon as a relevant notice is published. Time is critical — the window between publication and submission deadline is often 25–30 days for open procedures.

FTS vs Contracts Finder

FTS covers contracts above the OJEU thresholds. Contracts Finder (contractsfinder.service.gov.uk) covers contracts below these thresholds for central government and some other public bodies. For comprehensive coverage of public sector opportunities, suppliers should monitor both portals. Many local authorities and NHS trusts also publish opportunities on their own portals or through regional buying consortia such as YPO, ESPO, and NEPO.

Using Award Notices for Competitive Intelligence

Award notices published on FTS are one of the most underused intelligence sources in public sector sales. They show which supplier won a contract, what the contract value is, and often the buyer's contact details. By monitoring award notices in your sectors, you can identify which buyers are spending money, which incumbents are in place, and when contracts are likely to come up for re-tender. This intelligence is invaluable for relationship building and bid planning.

Using Procurement Intelligence Tools

Manually monitoring FTS, Contracts Finder, and multiple buyer portals is time-consuming. Procurement intelligence platforms like WinAContract aggregate opportunities from all these sources into a single matched feed. BidWriter integrates with WinAContract's procurement intelligence database, allowing you to import relevant FTS opportunities directly into your bid pipeline. Try BidWriter free.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Find a Tender Service free to use?

Yes. FTS is a free public service. Any supplier can search for and access procurement notices without registration or payment.

What is the difference between FTS and the old OJEU?

FTS replaced OJEU for UK public procurement after Brexit. UK contracting authorities now publish on FTS instead of OJEU. EU suppliers can still bid on UK public contracts but must monitor FTS directly.

How quickly do I need to respond to an FTS notice?

Open procedure tenders typically allow 30–35 days from publication to submission. Restricted procedures allow less time for the tender stage. Act quickly — begin your bid/no bid assessment as soon as you see a relevant notice.

Can I set up alerts on FTS?

Yes. FTS allows you to save search criteria and receive email alerts. Procurement intelligence tools like WinAContract provide more sophisticated matching and alerting across multiple portals.

What is a CPV code and why does it matter?

CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) codes categorise procurement by type of product or service. They are the most precise way to search for relevant opportunities on FTS. Identifying and monitoring the CPV codes most relevant to your services is one of the most effective ways to ensure you never miss a relevant opportunity.

Write better bids with AI

BidWriter helps UK procurement teams write stronger responses, track deadlines, and win more contracts.

Start free — no card needed →

Notifications