Free Guide: Cherwell Spending & Supplier Profile
A free spending & supplier guide for Cherwell District Council · Non-metropolitan district · South East
Data covering 2012 to 2026
Recorded Spend
£340.4m
Transactions
47,998
Suppliers
1,667
Key Takeaways
- £340 million in recorded spend across nearly 48,000 transactions since 2012
- 1,701 matched suppliers with an unconcentrated market at HHI 488
- 35.8% of identified spend goes to administrative and support services
How big a buyer is Cherwell?
Cherwell District Council covers 227 square miles of north Oxfordshire with a population of around 152,000. As a non-metropolitan district it doesn't carry social care or education responsibilities, but our data still shows £340 million in recorded spend across nearly 48,000 transactions from 2012 to 2026. That is a busy council for its tier. The dataset is built from 93 source files collected from cherwell.gov.uk and Find a Tender, with the latest collection in December 2025. Across those records we have matched 1,701 suppliers to Companies House data, giving you a solid picture of where the money flows. If you are looking at district councils in the South East, Cherwell's spending volume makes it one to pay attention to. The transaction count alone tells you this is a council that buys frequently and across a wide range of categories.
One supplier towers over the rest, but the market is still open
McLaren Construction (Midlands & North) sits at the top with £25.4 million in recorded spend, well ahead of second-placed Workplace Creations at £5 million. That gap is large, but the broader market is not locked down. Cherwell's HHI score is 488, which is unconcentrated. The top five suppliers account for 36.2% of identified spend, and the top ten for 45.9%, meaning more than half the money we have tracked goes to suppliers outside that top group. Sector-wise, administrative and support services dominates at 35.8% of spend across 190 identified suppliers. Professional and technical activities follows at 16.2% with 268 suppliers, the highest supplier count of any sector. IT and communications takes 8.3%, and construction 7.1%. So the spend is spread across multiple sectors, and within each sector there are plenty of competing suppliers. That pattern points to a buyer that uses the market broadly.
Where are the formal tenders?
This is where Cherwell's data gets interesting. Our records show 15 tenders worth a combined £4.4 million, suggesting the council does go to market when bigger requirements come up. On the contract side, the picture is thinner. We hold just one formal procurement record: a below-threshold contract valued at £37,280, awarded through a limited (direct award) route. The spending data separately references six contract entries totalling that same £37,280, which likely reflects how the council tagged payments against that single award. Contract publication is light here, which is common enough among district councils. If you are trying to build a picture of how Cherwell formally procures, the spending transaction data at nearly 48,000 records will tell you far more than the contract register alone. Most of the actionable intelligence here sits in the payment data rather than published procurement notices.
| # | Supplier | Spend |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MCLAREN CONSTRUCTION (MIDLANDS & NORTH) LIMITED | £25,449,901 |
| 2 | WORKPLACE CREATIONS LIMITED | £5,024,613 |
| 3 | TOMLINSON IT LTD | £3,763,500 |
| 4 | DENNIS EAGLE LIMITED | £3,737,016 |
| 5 | EDF ENERGY LIMITED | £3,031,569 |
| 6 | CHERWELL LEISURE LIMITED | £2,735,226 |
| 7 | WILLMOTT DIXON LIMITED | £2,622,697 |
| 8 | PARKWOOD LEISURE LIMITED | £2,496,417 |
| 9 | CAPITA BUSINESS SERVICES LTD | £2,443,388 |
| 10 | NEW RECRUITS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LIMITED | £2,043,519 |
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.
