Guides for UK FM contractors
Step-by-step playbooks on bidding, compliance, and winning public-sector cleaning, security, and grounds maintenance contracts.
What you'll learn
Whether you're a local commercial cleaning company chasing your first council contract, or an established FM provider working through the shift from PAS 91 to the Common Assessment Standard, this hub is the path. Every guide walks the same procurement lifecycle: find the right tenders, pass the compliance gate, draft a Selection Questionnaire that scores, and price your bid without racing to the bottom.
We cover the entities the public sector actually scores you on. SSIP and Common Assessment Standard accreditation, CHAS, SMAS and Constructionline pre-qualification routes, the SQ under PPN 03/23, the National TOMs social value framework, BS EN 1276 and EN 14476 disinfectant standards for NHS work, and the live portals every English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish buyer is required to publish to.
- Bidding Strategy
Commercial Cleaning Contracts in the UK: The 2026 Buyer and Contractor Guide
A commercial cleaning contract is a written agreement between a business and a cleaning provider that defines scope, frequency, service levels, audit method, TUPE liability, GDPR handling, and pricing. UK contracts in 2026 are priced against the National Living Wage at £12.71/hour and must reference BICSc skills, NHS Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness 2025 (in healthcare), COSHH, BS EN 1276 efficacy, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. Here is the complete buyer-and-contractor playbook.
26 May 2026 · 18 min read
- Press & Updates
Pressure Washing Contracts: How to Find and Win UK Tenders (2026 Guide)
UK public-sector pressure washing tenders are scored on GPP 13 wastewater containment, ISO 14001, BS EN 1829-1 equipment safety, CHAS or equivalent SSIP, COSHH chemical control, and PPN 002 social value, not the cheapest cost-per-square-metre. Buyers want documented containment plans, named accreditation, and Procurement Act 2023 alignment. Here is the playbook for councils, NHS Trusts, schools, MoD estates, housing associations, transport bodies, and Chewing Gum Task Force grant work.
26 May 2026 · 14 min read
- Bidding Strategy
5 Real-World UK B2G Contract Examples (And How SMEs Win Them in 2026)
When people hear B2G (Business-to-Government), they picture billion-pound defence contracts and HS2. The reality is councils, NHS Trusts, schools, and universities awarding thousands of contracts every year to local SMEs for everyday services. Five real-world UK B2G examples and the named compliance that wins each one.
1 May 2026 · 11 min read
- Bidding Strategy
B2B vs B2G: What's the Difference and How to Adapt Your Sales Strategy (UK 2026)
B2B sales is fast, flexible, won on relationships. B2G is slow, regulated, won on scoring matrices and social value. Most UK SMEs fail their first government bid because they bring B2B muscle to a B2G fight. Here is the side-by-side breakdown of every difference, plus the exact sales-strategy pivot to win public sector revenue.
1 May 2026 · 10 min read
- Bidding Strategy
What is B2G (Business-to-Government)? A Plain-English Guide for UK SMEs
B2G (Business-to-Government) is the model where private companies sell goods or services to public-sector buyers (councils, NHS Trusts, schools, central government). The UK B2G market is worth roughly £300 billion a year and the government has a standing target of spending £1 in every £3 with SMEs. This guide explains how it actually works, why SMEs should care, and how to break in.
1 May 2026 · 9 min read
- Bidding Strategy
How to Win UK Public-Sector Grounds Maintenance Tenders (2026 Guide)
UK public-sector grounds maintenance tenders are scored on BS 7370 compliance, NPTC pesticide tickets, Wildlife and Countryside Act protocols, biodiversity gain commitments, and ISO 14001 evidence, not the cheapest cut-price-per-hectare. Buyers want documented teams, named accreditation, and credible biodiversity narratives. Here is the bid playbook for councils, schools, NHS estates, MoD, universities, and social housing.
1 May 2026 · 13 min read
FAQs
Quick answers about UK FM tendering
- A cleaning tender is a public-sector buyer publishing the job on a portal (Contracts Finder, Find a Tender, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales or eTendersNI), with fixed scoring rules every supplier has to answer against. A standard commercial cleaning contract is a private buyer awarding the work directly, often without a formal bid. Public tenders pay on 30+ day invoice terms, score quality and price separately, and almost always carry social value and TUPE obligations that private contracts don't.
- Yes for almost any council work and effectively all NHS cleaning. The Safety Schemes in Procurement umbrella has 15 Core Criteria that every member scheme (CHAS, SMAS, SafeContractor, Constructionline) tests against. Hold one and the Deem to Satisfy passport rule means a buyer asking for a different scheme has to accept yours, often for a small admin fee. Common Assessment Standard (CHAS Elite or Worksafe Pro) is only formally required on public-sector projects above £5 million.
- BSI withdrew PAS 91 in April 2023. The Standard Selection Questionnaire under PPN 03/23 is the main replacement for most public-sector cleaning and FM tenders. For high-value construction-adjacent work over £5 million, PPN 03/24 introduced the Common Assessment Standard from 27 June 2024. Some councils still attach old PAS 91 forms to packs because their templates haven't been refreshed. Read the cover letter and answer the version they actually ask for.
- Six weeks at the fast end of an Open procedure, six months at the slow end of a Competitive Flexible procedure with a pre-qualification stage and negotiation. Add another 4 to 8 weeks for mobilisation before the first invoice. Build that 8 to 12-month cash gap into your bid pricing or you'll win contracts you can't afford to start.