Councils, schools, housing associations and NHS trusts buy billions of pounds of small works every year — refurbishments, roofing, rewires, heating replacements, groundworks, reactive maintenance. Under the Procurement Act, below-threshold contracts must be advertised openly, and public buyers are measured on how much they spend with small firms. The work is there; the problem is visibility and process.
Two official portals matter. Contracts Finder lists below-threshold work (roughly under £5.3m for works) — this is where small-firm-sized jobs live: £30k–£500k is typical. Find a Tender lists the big above-threshold projects. If you're a 1–20 person firm, Contracts Finder is your hunting ground — or a service like our live construction board that filters it for you daily.
Below-threshold procedures are simpler than people fear: often a single-stage "open" process with a questionnaire (company details, insurance, references) plus your price and a short method statement. Selection questionnaires are heavily standardised — once you've answered one well, you can reuse 80% of it. Expect 2–6 weeks between the notice and the deadline, which is why seeing notices early matters.
A small-works bid typically takes half a day to two days once your boilerplate exists. If you bid selectively at a sensible hit rate, public work becomes steady base-load revenue on 30-day payment terms — councils are statutorily required to pay within 30 days.
Next step: see what's open near you right now on the live construction & trades board — every listing links to the official notice — or join the waitlist to get matched contracts by email.
Sources: Contracts Finder open data (OGL v3.0), GOV.UK procurement guidance. This is practical general information, not legal or professional procurement advice.
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