Free Guide: Leicestershire Spending & Supplier Profile
A free spending & supplier guide for Leicestershire County Council · County · East Midlands
Data covering 2015 to 2026
Recorded Spend
£2.5bn
Transactions
286,239
Suppliers
3,123
Key Takeaways
- £2.5 billion in recorded spend across 286,239 transactions since 2015
- 3,123 identified suppliers produce an unconcentrated market with HHI of 137
- 11 of 17 published contracts were direct awards, not open tenders
£2.5 billion over a decade: what does that buying power look like?
Leicestershire County Council is a big buyer. Our data covers £2.5 billion in recorded spend across 286,239 transactions, drawn from 66 source files spanning 2015 to 2026. For a county council serving 713,000 people across 804 square miles of the East Midlands, that volume is worth paying attention to. The spending records we hold show 210 contracts worth a combined £4.7 million, plus 206 tenders valued at just under £1.5 billion. That gap between contract values and tender values is striking. It suggests much of the pipeline activity involves large-scale procurements, while many smaller contracts may sit below formal publication thresholds. We've matched 3,273 suppliers to company records so far, giving a solid view of where the money flows. If you're looking at Leicestershire as a target, the sheer transaction volume tells you this council buys frequently and from a wide base.
Construction and care dominate, but who's actually winning?
Health and social care takes the largest share of identified spend at 25.6%, with £221 million going to 453 matched suppliers. Construction follows at 19.4% (£168 million across 215 suppliers), then education at 14.1%. The top two suppliers are both construction firms: Galliford Try Infrastructure at £57.8 million and Willmott Dixon Construction at £42.3 million. Leicestershire County Care, a social care provider, sits third with £36 million. But here's the thing: the market is genuinely spread out. An HHI of 137 is very low, and the top five suppliers account for just 20.7% of matched spend. Even the top ten only reach 28.1%. That's a wide supplier base by any measure. Transport and storage (8.1%) and admin services (7.8%) round out the middle tier. Of the 3,123 identified suppliers in our dataset, no single company has a dominant grip on this council's spending.
Mostly direct awards, so how open is this market really?
Of the 17 published contracts we've tracked, 11 were direct awards. Only four went through open tender, and two used limited procedures. That's a direct award rate of nearly 65%, which is high. The median contract value sits at £60,000, and 14 of 17 contracts fall below threshold. So most of the published contract activity involves smaller-value work where direct awards are common and procedurally straightforward. Three contracts were above threshold, where you'd typically expect competitive processes. On the tender side, 206 notices worth nearly £1.5 billion paint a different picture of how larger procurements move through the pipeline. The contrast between the contract and tender data is worth noting. It suggests the bigger opportunities do go through formal processes, even if the published contract register skews toward smaller direct awards. Whether that pipeline converts into accessible opportunities depends on the categories you're targeting.
| # | Supplier | Spend |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GALLIFORD TRY INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED | £57,769,794 |
| 2 | WILLMOTT DIXON CONSTRUCTION LIMITED | £42,292,182 |
| 3 | LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTY CARE LIMITED | £36,029,853 |
| 4 | SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT SERVICES LIMITED | £28,024,205 |
| 5 | BIFFA WASTE SERVICES LIMITED | £14,726,684 |
| 6 | THE COVENTRY AND SOLIHULL WASTE DISPOSAL COMPANY LIMITED | £14,307,304 |
| 7 | AGGREGATE INDUSTRIES LIMITED | £14,244,176 |
| 8 | AFFINITY TRUST SUPPORT LTD | £13,119,491 |
| 9 | BIRKETT HOUSE SCHOOL | £11,501,715 |
| 10 | AMHERST SCHOOL (ACADEMY) TRUST | £10,849,700 |
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.
