Free Guide: Darlington Spending & Supplier Profile
A free spending & supplier guide for Darlington Borough Council · Unitary authority · North East
Data covering 2017 to 2026
Recorded Spend
£328.6m
Transactions
47,939
Suppliers
1,327
Key Takeaways
- £328.6 million in recorded spend across nearly 48,000 transactions since 2017
- 1,327 identified suppliers with an unconcentrated HHI of 295 and low top-5 share
- 129 tenders worth £130 million published, but only 3 contracts recorded as direct awards
A £328 million buyer in Tees Valley, but how active?
Darlington Borough Council is a unitary authority covering about 107,000 people across 76 square miles in the North East. Our dataset holds £328.6 million in recorded spend spread over nearly 48,000 transactions, drawn from 25 source files and collected from three publishing domains including Find a Tender. That data runs from 2017 to 2026, giving you a decent window into spending patterns. On the contracts side, we've tracked 126 published contracts worth a combined £8.9 million. Tenders tell a different story: 129 published opportunities valued at £130 million. Across those transactions, we've matched 1,401 supplier records to 1,327 unique identified suppliers. For a borough council of this size, that's a broad supplier base. Darlington sits within the Tees Valley Combined Authority, so some spending may flow through TVCA frameworks rather than appearing in the council's own records.
Construction and care dominate, but nobody owns this market
Two sectors account for over half the matched spend. Construction leads at 26.9%, with £47.8 million across 111 identified suppliers. Willmott Dixon tops the supplier list at £24.4 million, and Kajima Darlington Schools sits second at £9 million. Health and social work runs close behind at 24.6%, pulling in £43.7 million from 123 suppliers. That sector features several care providers in the top ten, including Making Space, Brighter Horizon Homes, and Dimensions Personalised Support. Beyond those two, spending fragments quickly. Education takes 7%, professional services and IT each sit at 5%, and everything else falls below that. The concentration numbers back this up: an HHI of 295, which is very low, and the top five suppliers account for just 28.7% of matched spend. If you're looking at Darlington, this is a market where spending is spread widely rather than locked up with a handful of incumbents.
Where are the open tenders?
This is where the data gets interesting. Our procurement records show just 3 above-threshold contracts, all awarded directly. The median contract value among those three is £3.3 million. Zero contracts came through open competition in the records we hold. But before drawing firm conclusions, consider the context. Darlington has published 129 tenders worth £130 million on Find a Tender, which points to competitive procurement happening at the opportunity stage. The contract award data we hold simply may not capture the full picture of how those tenders resolved. With 1,327 identified suppliers across the spending records, it's clear the council works with a wide range of providers in practice. For bid managers, the tender pipeline is where you'll find the action. Those 129 published opportunities across the dataset period suggest Darlington does go to market regularly, even if the contract records we've captured are sparse.
| # | Supplier | Spend |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WILLMOTT DIXON CONSTRUCTION LIMITED | £24,404,321 |
| 2 | KAJIMA DARLINGTON SCHOOLS LIMITED | £9,036,262 |
| 3 | STONEGRAVE AGGREGATES LIMITED | £6,828,554 |
| 4 | THE EDUCATION VILLAGE ACADEMY TRUST | £5,769,473 |
| 5 | EDF ENERGY CUSTOMERS LIMITED | £4,918,739 |
| 6 | MAGNIT GLOBAL GRI LIMITED | £3,554,743 |
| 7 | MAKING SPACE | £3,341,472 |
| 8 | BRIGHTER HORIZON HOMES LTD | £3,300,331 |
| 9 | DIMENSIONS PERSONALISED SUPPORT LIMITED | £2,737,499 |
| 10 | POSITIVE LIFE CHOICES LIMITED | £2,657,676 |
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.
