Free Guide: Barking and Dagenham Spending & Supplier Profile
A free spending & supplier guide for London Borough of Barking and Dagenham · London borough · London
Data covering 2017 to 2026
Recorded Spend
£3.5bn
Transactions
533,313
Suppliers
5,494
Key Takeaways
- £3.5 billion in recorded spend across 533,313 transactions from 2017 to 2026
- 5,494 identified suppliers with construction accounting for 35.9% of matched spend
- 8 out of 10 tracked contracts awarded through limited procedures, not open tender
£3.5 billion and counting: how big a buyer is Barking and Dagenham?
For a London borough of 214,000 people packed into 13.9 square miles, Barking and Dagenham moves a lot of money. Our dataset covers £3.5 billion in recorded spend across 533,313 transactions, drawn from 196 source files and spanning 2017 to 2026. That volume puts it firmly on the radar for anyone selling into east London. We've also tracked 112 tenders worth a combined £484 million, alongside 59 published contracts valued at £1.6 million. The gap between those two figures is worth noting. Tender values capture estimated whole-life costs, while the contract records we hold cover a smaller, separately published set. The spending data itself comes from two sources: Find a Tender and the council's own website. With 5,575 matched supplier records in our data, there is a broad base of commercial relationships to dig into.
Construction dominates, but who else is at the table?
Construction is the headline story here. It accounts for 35.9% of matched spend, and five of the top ten identified suppliers sit in the construction sector. Wates Construction leads with £312 million, followed by Willmott Dixon at £226 million and Countryside Properties at £99 million. GLA Holdings, classified under real estate, comes in second overall at £257 million. Then there's Gowling WLG, a law firm, at £225 million, which is a striking figure for legal services and one worth investigating further. Beyond construction, professional and scientific services (£388 million, 10.3%), real estate (£357 million, 9.5%), and education (£286 million, 7.6%) all carry weight. Across the 5,494 identified suppliers, concentration is low with an HHI of 318. But the top five still account for 35% of recorded spend. So while the supplier base is wide, the big money flows through a small group.
Why are so few contracts going to open tender?
Of the 10 contracts we've tracked with procurement method data, only 2 went through open competition. The remaining 8 used limited procedures. That's a high ratio of restricted routes, and if you're a supplier without an existing relationship here, it's worth knowing. The median contract value sits at £133,433, and 6 of the 10 fell below the procurement threshold. Above-threshold contracts numbered just 4. Barking and Dagenham is also a member of Procure Plus Holdings, a consortium open to all public sector bodies, which may channel some procurement activity outside the council's own tender pipeline. The 112 tenders in our data represent a broader picture of opportunities, but the published contract records suggest that when it comes to formalised awards, limited procedures are the norm based on what we can see. Whether that pattern holds across the full range of council buying is an open question.
| # | Supplier | Spend |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WATES CONSTRUCTION LIMITED | £312,421,032 |
| 2 | GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY HOLDINGS LIMITED | £256,844,115 |
| 3 | WILLMOTT DIXON CONSTRUCTION LIMITED | £226,209,431 |
| 4 | GOWLING WLG (UK) LLP | £224,866,493 |
| 5 | ADECCO UK LIMITED | £163,637,511 |
| 6 | THAMES PARTNERSHIP FOR LEARNING LIMITED | £118,870,398 |
| 7 | COUNTRYSIDE PROPERTIES (UK) LIMITED | £98,715,536 |
| 8 | ELEVATE EAST LONDON LLP | £90,757,875 |
| 9 | BE FIRST (REGENERATION) LTD. | £78,845,997 |
| 10 | BY EDUCATION (BARKING) LIMITED | £61,966,752 |
About Us
CouncilLedger brings together spending records, contract awards, and tender notices from over 400 UK local authorities into one procurement intelligence platform. Our data covers 16 years of transactions, collected directly from council transparency publications and government procurement platforms. Search suppliers, track spending trends, discover tender opportunities, and monitor the contracts that matter to your business.
