Step by step: the free official route
Search Contracts Finder for awarded contracts
On Contracts Finder, enter a keyword, pick a region or postcode radius, and choose Awarded contract as the procurement stage. Each awarded notice says how many suppliers the contract was awarded to and names them, with the total value and the contract start and end dates. It covers contracts over £12,000 including VAT with central government, or £30,000 for other public bodies, back to 26 February 2015.
Use Find a Tender for procurements since 24 February 2025
On Find a Tender, the Contracts search lists awarded contracts, active and expired, for procurements under the Procurement Act 2023. Under the Act the buyer publishes a contract award notice naming the supplier it intends to contract with, before the contract is signed; it starts a standstill period of at least eight working days. Once the contract is signed, a contract details notice follows within 30 days (120 days for light touch contracts), with the maximum value including options, and a copy of the contract if it is worth over £5 million.
Check the winner on Companies House
Search the winner's name on the free Companies House service, Find and update company information, to confirm the exact company, its registered office and its filing history before you get in touch.
Add council contract registers for smaller awards
Councils in England publish every contract over £5,000 with the supplier name, value and start, end and review dates, under the Local Government Transparency Code 2015. Search for "[council name] contract register".
Follow the money after award
Find a Tender also has a payments transparency register for searching payments linked to public contracts, which helps you see that a contract is live and being paid.
What the free tools do, and what they leave to you
All of this is free and official. The effort is in repetition: running searches across two services and many council registers each week, opening each notice to read the winner and value, then looking each company up on Companies House.
Where Award Radar saves time
Award Radar is a weekly email listing UK companies that have just won public-sector contracts published on Contracts Finder and Find a Tender: who won, the buyer, the value, the region and the contract length, with a CSV and a Companies House link for each winner. Company winners only: notices naming individuals, or with no winner, are left out. It is built for subcontractors, recruiters, hire firms and suppliers who sell to contract winners.
Questions people ask
How quickly is a contract winner published?
Under the Procurement Act 2023 the intended supplier is named in the contract award notice before the contract is entered into, followed by a standstill period of at least eight working days. The contract details notice follows within 30 days of signing (120 days for light touch contracts).
What is a standstill period?
The gap between the contract award notice and the contract being signed, during which suppliers can raise concerns about or challenge the decision. It must be at least eight working days, beginning with the day the award notice is published.
Can I read the actual contract?
For contracts under the Procurement Act 2023 worth over £5 million, the buyer must publish a copy of the contract, attached to the contract details notice.
Do I need an account to see who won?
No. Contracts Finder and Find a Tender can be searched without an account. An account adds saved searches and email notifications.
Can I contact the companies that won?
That is your decision and your responsibility under UK GDPR and PECR. Award Radar lists companies only, with links to the official notice and to Companies House.
Official sources
- Contracts Finder (search)
- GOV.UK: Contracts Finder
- Find a Tender
- Procurement Act 2023 guidance: contract award notices and standstill
- Procurement Act 2023 guidance: contract details notices
- Local Government Transparency Code 2015
- Companies House: Find and update company information
Contains public sector information from Contracts Finder and Find a Tender licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Information only: not legal, financial or professional advice. Always check the official source before you act.