Free Guide: Cheltenham Spending & Supplier Profile
A free spending & supplier guide for Cheltenham Borough Council · Non-metropolitan district · South West
Data covering 2011 to 2026
Recorded Spend
£445.7m
Transactions
56,122
Suppliers
1,773
Key Takeaways
- £446 million in recorded spend across 56,122 transactions since 2011
- 1,773 identified suppliers with an unconcentrated market and HHI of 199
- Construction dominates at 29.9% of matched spend, more than double the next sector
How big a buyer is Cheltenham?
For a borough of 116,000 people covering just 18 square miles, Cheltenham pushes a decent amount of money through its supplier base. Our data shows £446 million in recorded spend across 56,122 transactions, drawn from 141 source files and spanning 2011 to 2026. That works out at roughly £30 million a year on average, though actual annual figures will vary. We hold one published contract record valued at £29,850, alongside 32 tenders worth a combined £39.3 million. The spending records come from two sources: the council's own website and Find a Tender Service. With 1,796 matched suppliers across 22 sectors, there is plenty of breadth in the supplier base. And the data runs right up to a December 2025 collection, so you are looking at a reasonably current picture. For a non-metropolitan district council, the transaction volume alone tells you this is an active buyer worth watching.
Construction runs the show, but the field is wide open
Construction accounts for 29.9% of matched spend, pulling in £50.9 million across 186 identified suppliers. That is more than double the next sector, manufacturing, which sits at 11.5% (£19.5 million). Five of the top ten suppliers by spend operate in construction or related trades: Willmott Dixon, Joyner P.A., Ian Williams, Liberty Gas Group, and British Gas Social Housing. But the top supplier overall is actually Nationwide Windows, a manufacturer, at £10.1 million. The Cheltenham Trust, an arts and recreation body, ranks second at £8.9 million, which points to the council's outsourced leisure and culture services. Publica Group, the shared services vehicle used by several Gloucestershire councils, appears at number five with £7.6 million. Concentration is low. An HHI of 199 is about as unconcentrated as you will find. The top five suppliers account for just 24.6% of recorded spend, and even the top ten only reach 37.7%. Spend is spread widely here.
Where are all the published contracts?
This is where Cheltenham gets interesting. Of the contracts we hold, there is just one published procurement record, and it went through an open process. That single contract was valued at £29,850, well below the public procurement threshold. Meanwhile, the tender pipeline tells a different story: 32 tenders worth £39.3 million. So the formal tendering activity is there, but published contract notices are thin on the ground. Professional, scientific and technical activities is the most fragmented sector by supplier count, with 308 identified suppliers sharing 9.8% of spend. If you are looking at professional services, competition based on what we can see appears spread across a large number of firms. Admin and support services follow a similar pattern: 196 suppliers sharing 5.4%. For a council with over 56,000 transactions in the dataset, the low number of formal contract publications is worth noting when assessing the opportunity pipeline here.
| # | Supplier | Spend |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NATIONWIDE WINDOWS LIMITED | £10,147,882 |
| 2 | THE CHELTENHAM TRUST | £8,858,246 |
| 3 | WILLMOTT DIXON CONSTRUCTION LIMITED | £7,698,717 |
| 4 | JOYNER P. A. LIMITED | £7,599,459 |
| 5 | PUBLICA GROUP ( SUPPORT) LIMITED | £7,558,868 |
| 6 | GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB LIMITED | £6,207,601 |
| 7 | IAN WILLIAMS LIMITED | £3,988,676 |
| 8 | LIBERTY GAS GROUP LIMITED | £3,739,126 |
| 9 | BRITISH GAS SOCIAL HOUSING LIMITED | £3,565,230 |
| 10 | WORKSHOP CHELTENHAM LIMITED | £3,501,534 |
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.
