Free Guide: Dover Spending & Supplier Profile
A free spending & supplier guide for Dover District Council · Non-metropolitan district · South East
Data covering 2011 to 2026
Recorded Spend
£625.3m
Transactions
166,062
Suppliers
2,354
Key Takeaways
- £625 million in recorded spend across 166,062 transactions spanning 2011 to 2026
- 2,354 identified suppliers with an unconcentrated market, HHI of 912
- 33 tenders worth £41.1 million published, with council membership in two buying consortiums
£625 million over 15 years: what does that buy you?
Dover District Council is a non-metropolitan district in Kent, covering about 122 square miles with a population of around 118,500. For a district council, the recorded spending is sizeable. Our data covers £625.3 million across 166,062 transactions, drawn from 165 source files and spanning 2011 to 2026. That works out to a steady flow of purchasing activity over a long period. We've matched 2,391 suppliers against Companies House records, giving reasonable visibility into who this council pays. Dover is also a member of two buying consortiums: Procure Plus Holdings (open to all public sector) and the South East Consortium, where it holds full membership. If you're looking at framework routes into this council, those consortium memberships are worth keeping in mind. The spend is weighted heavily toward services and construction, which tracks with what you'd expect from a district authority managing housing stock and public realm.
Mears dominates, but the field is wide open after that
Mears Limited is the clear front-runner among identified suppliers, accounting for £57.3 million in recorded spend. That's more than five times the second-placed supplier, Coniston Limited, at £10.1 million. Between them, administrative and support services (SIC Section N) and construction (Section F) make up over 60% of matched spend, at 38.9% and 21.7% respectively. But look past the top line and the market is not especially concentrated. The HHI sits at 912, which is unconcentrated. The top five suppliers account for 43.3% of spend, and the top ten for 49.8%, across 2,354 identified suppliers. Professional and technical services come in third at 6.5%, followed by IT and communications at 5.6%. Accommodation and food services round out the top sectors at 5.1%, with Paramount Property Services picking up £5.1 million. So while Mears has a strong position, there is a long tail of suppliers sharing the remaining spend.
What does the tender pipeline actually look like?
Dover has published 33 tenders in our dataset, with a combined value of £41.1 million. On the contracts side, we hold 22 published contracts, though contract values are not recorded in the data we've collected. The tender activity gives you a better read on upcoming and recent opportunities. With 33 tenders tracked, there is a reasonable flow of formal procurement, though not a heavy volume compared to larger authorities. Our data is sourced from procontract.due-north.com, dover.gov.uk, and Find a Tender Service, so Dover is publishing through standard channels. Procurement method breakdowns are not available in the current dataset, so it is hard to say how much goes through open competition versus direct award. For a district council of this size, the mix of consortium membership and its own tendering activity suggests multiple routes to market. Whether those routes favour incumbents or newcomers is a question the method data would answer.
| # | Supplier | Spend |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MEARS LIMITED | £57,276,531 |
| 2 | CONISTON LIMITED | £10,069,304 |
| 3 | ENGLISH LANDSCAPES MAINTENANCE LIMITED | £7,062,152 |
| 4 | SWALE HEATING LIMITED | £6,420,323 |
| 5 | PARAMOUNT PROPERTY SERVICES LIMITED | £5,123,766 |
| 6 | ZURICH INSURANCE COMPANY | £3,105,427 |
| 7 | DISCOVERY PARK LIMITED | £2,985,892 |
| 8 | YOUR LEISURE KENT LIMITED | £2,551,639 |
| 9 | TOWN AND COUNTRY CLEANERS LIMITED | £2,294,199 |
| 10 | HALL MARK MEAT HYGIENE LIMITED | £2,014,644 |
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.
