OPEN-UK: Login, Guide & Open Tenders
Operated by NEPO (North East Procurement Organisation)·Public-sector e-sourcing portal·Login required to see documents
Official portalopen-uk.org ↗
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Based on 252 lots from 126 competitions on this portal, last 36 months.
How to bid on OPEN-UK
Portal facts checked against the live portal in November 2026 · the notice always names the exact portal instance to use
OPEN is an e-procurement platform built by NEPO in partnership with the twelve North East local authorities and wider public sector organisations, and opened to buyers across the UK. Cloud-based registration serves both buyers and suppliers, and its tender volumes have grown quickly since launch.
Suppliers register once on OPEN and express interest in opportunities; bids and documents are managed in the cloud platform with no software to install.
- Registration
- Free registration; built by NEPO in partnership with the twelve North East local authorities
- Access
- Login required to see documents
- Primary sectors
- Local Authorities (North East-led) · Education · Housing · Emergency Services
- Portal domains seen
- open-uk.org · open-uk.org).search
- Time to respond
- The middle value is 29 days from notice to final deadline on 168 tender notices. Multi-stage procedures can close initial participation earlier than the final tender date; register before the notice you want, not after.
Who buys through OPEN-UKi
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All notices naming this portal · official UK_CA_TYPE where published (NHS bodies are central government authorities for threshold purposes), else derived from the authority name
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Local authorities94%(462 notices)
462 of 489 notices are Local authorities (94%).Other public bodies4%(21 notices)
21 of 489 notices are Other public bodies (4%).Education & universities0%(1 notice)
1 of 489 notices is Education & universities (0%).Not classified1%(5 notices)
5 of 489 notices are Not classified (1%).
| Contracting authority | Type | Notices | Last 12 months | Open now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle City Council | Local authorities | 111 | 52 | 3 |
| Northumberland County Council | Local authorities | 59 | 32 | 3 |
| North Tyneside Council | Local authorities | 42 | 19 | 3 |
| The Association of North East Councils Limited | Local authorities | 34 | 5 | 1 |
| Sunderland City Council | Local authorities | 32 | 6 | 3 |
| Durham County Council | Local authorities | 30 | 11 | 1 |
| South Tyneside Council | Local authorities | 29 | 18 | 0 |
| Gateshead Council | Local authorities | 27 | 10 | 1 |
| Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive T/A Nexus | Other public bodies | 19 | 10 | 1 |
| North East Combined Authority | Local authorities | 19 | 16 | 0 |
28 distinct authorities in total · the ten most active shown.
Portal instances named in notices
2 distinct hosts in submission addresses · addresses identify response routes, not a measured number of accounts
open-uk.org487 notices · 100% · 24 openopen-uk.org).search2 notices · <1%What is procured on OPEN-UKi
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CPV divisions on the notices naming this portal · a notice with several divisions counts in each · commercial tool and route as published, not a legal-regime claim
45 Construction work108 notices · 22%85 Health and social work services106 notices · 22%79 Business services: law, marketing, consulting55 notices · 11%50 Repair and maintenance services23 notices · 5%90 Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental20 notices · 4%34 Transport equipment and products16 notices · 3%44 Construction structures and materials15 notices · 3%80 Education and training services15 notices · 3%i
Contract69%(338 notices)
338 of 489 notices are Contract (69%).Framework30%(148 notices)
148 of 489 notices are Framework (30%).Dynamic purchasing system1%(3 notices)
3 of 489 notices are Dynamic purchasing system (1%).
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Open94%(459 notices)
459 of 489 notices are Open (94%).Selective6%(29 notices)
29 of 489 notices are Selective (6%).Limited / restricted0%(1 notice)
1 of 489 notices is Limited / restricted (0%).
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Above threshold57%(219 notices)
219 of 381 notices are Above threshold (57%).Below threshold43%(162 notices)
162 of 381 notices are Below threshold (43%).
Where the work is deliveredi
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Delivery regions (ITL1) published on 461 of 489 notices · a notice covering several regions counts in each
Competition and winners on OPEN-UKi
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Bid counts as published per lot on contested contract notices of the last 36 months · winners ranked by distinct procedures won, award records shown alongside, single-supplier active awards with a canonical supplier · SME scale as declared on the award
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Based on 252 lots from 126 competitions on this portal, last 36 months.
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34 of 252 lots, last 36 months.
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757 SME bids out of 1,101, where the buyer published the split.
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417 of 639 awards with a classified supplier size (award declarations and Companies House records); 43 group/subsidiary awards sit outside the binary.
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Based on 243 notices with a VAT-exclusive estimate.
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Based on 66 notices publishing only a VAT-inclusive estimate.
| Published PA 2023 procedure | Lots (procedures) | Single-bid vs peer-expected | Received bids (median · 1 / 2–3 / 4–6 / 7+) | Identified lot winners (SME % of classified · SME / Large / Group / Unk) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open procedure | — | Insufficient sample | med 3 · 24% / 27% / 32% / 18% | 77.2% · 44 / 13 / 2 / 9 |
| Below threshold - open competition | — | Insufficient sample | — | 90.0% · 63 / 7 / 3 / 8 |
| Competitive flexible procedure | 128 (12) | 0.8% vs 16.0% (0.05x) | — | 59.1% · 91 / 63 / 24 / 2 |
| Supplier | Procedures | Single-supplier awards | Buyers |
|---|---|---|---|
| GO NORTH EAST | 4 | 38 | 1 |
| NORTHSTAR CONSTELLATION LIMITED | 4 | 33 | 1 |
| BUSWAYS TRAVEL SERVICES LIMITED | 4 | 20 | 1 |
| CENTRAL TAXIS GATESHEAD LTD | 4 | 16 | 1 |
| HOME GROUP LIMITED | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Cyrenians | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| John Flowers Ltd | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Buston &Maughan Ltd | 3 | 3 | 3 |
793 single-supplier awards to 497 suppliers on notices naming this portal · the most frequent winners shown.
Open tenders on OPEN-UK
24 open now · soonest deadline first · every row links to the notice page with the portal reference and documents
Frequently asked questions
Supplier registration, domains and value transparency
Does one OPEN-UK account cover every buyer?
Notices in this catalogue name 2 hostnames for OPEN-UK. This does not tell us how many accounts you need: one account can cover multiple buyers and one domain can contain separate workspaces. Follow the exact notice and confirm account reuse in the portal's registration guidance.
Why are net and gross contract estimates separated here?
Under the Procurement Act 2023, many notices publish estimated values inclusive of VAT rather than net of VAT. Tenderline tracks net (243 notices) and gross-only (66 notices) values in separate figures so higher-tax or zero-rated contracts do not distort portal averages.
How does OPEN-UK compare with other UK procurement portals?
In the dated 24-month study, OPEN-UK carried 459 procedures from 28 buyers. Compare its primary sectors and named buyers with other channels before deciding where to focus. Read the UK tender portal market study →
About this data
- What counts as OPEN-UK. A notice whose submission link points to this portal, including buyer-specific instances (2 addresses so far). Award notices rarely publish that link, so the awards side is undercounted. Notices from 14 Jul 2023 to 13 Nov 2026.
- Portal facts. Registration and login notes were checked on the live portal in November 2026. Portals change their sign-up steps; the notice’s own instructions take precedence.
- Independent. Portal and operator names belong to their owners and appear only to show where notices are published; Tenderline is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to any portal.
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender and Contracts Finder), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0, updated through the day and rebuilt nightly. Not every figure uses both feeds, and each one shows how many records it rests on: see the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.