Skip to main content
wheredoesthemoneygo.to

Topic 03 · Financial year 2024/25

Who the UK government buys from

Spent with suppliers

£400bn

≈36% of all public spending

Suppliers

200k

≈200,000 organisations

Top 10 companies

≈9%

of all supplier spend

Spend with SMEs

20%

Government target: £1 in every £3 with small businesses

Data sourcesCabinet Office — Contracts Finder (awarded contracts)data.gov.uk API (api.gov.uk)Cabinet Office — Find a Tender Service (high-value awards)data.gov.uk API (api.gov.uk)HM Government — Departmental spend over £25,000data.gov.uk API (api.gov.uk)
Supplier spend£400bnhover a segment
exact ONS/HMRC/MHCLG/PSS fields

Supplier league table

The 25 largest companies by annual public-sector revenue, and what they supply.

Data sourcesCabinet Office — Find a Tender Service (high-value awards)data.gov.uk API (api.gov.uk)HM Government — Departmental spend over £25,000data.gov.uk API (api.gov.uk)Crown Commercial Service — Frameworks and agreements
  1. 1BAE SystemsSubmarines, warships, combat aircraft, munitions and cyber services£6.6bn
  2. 2Rolls-RoyceNuclear submarine reactors, aero engines and power systems£3.4bn
  3. 3AstraZenecaBranded medicines, oncology and respiratory treatments, vaccines£3.1bn
  4. 4GSKVaccines, respiratory and HIV medicines£2.6bn
  5. 5Babcock InternationalWarship and submarine refit, dockyards, training and fleet support£2.6bn
  6. 6Pfizer UKVaccines, oncology and speciality medicines£2.4bn
  7. 7Balfour BeattyRail electrification, highways construction and civil engineering£2.4bn
  8. 8Alliance Healthcare / CencoraPharmaceutical wholesale and distribution to hospitals and pharmacies£2.2bn
  9. 9MicrosoftEnterprise software, Azure cloud, security and productivity licences£2bn
  10. 10Leonardo UKHelicopters, radar, electronic warfare and sensors£1.6bn
  11. 11Skanska UKHighways, tunnels and station construction£1.6bn
  12. 12Spire HealthcareNHS-funded elective surgery, diagnostics and outpatient capacity£1.4bn
  13. 13MBDA UKComplex weapons and missile systems£1.4bn
  14. 14Amazon Web ServicesCloud hosting, storage and machine learning services£1.4bn
  15. 15CostainRoad and rail engineering, programme management£1.4bn
  16. 16BT GroupNetworks, emergency services network, telephony and connectivity£1.3bn
  17. 17AmeyHighways maintenance, rail infrastructure services£1.3bn
  18. 18SercoPrison operation, prisoner escorting, electronic monitoring and asylum accommodation£1.3bn
  19. 19Veolia UKWaste collection, recycling, energy-from-waste and water services£1.3bn
  20. 20Lockheed Martin UKF-35 support, weapons integration and logistics systems£1.2bn
  21. 21Alstom UKTrains, signalling systems and fleet maintenance£1.2bn
  22. 22Thales UKSonar, optronics, communications and air defence£1.1bn
  23. 23Siemens MobilitySignalling, traffic systems and train fleets£1.1bn
  24. 24Ramsay Health Care UKNHS elective surgery, orthopaedics and diagnostics£1bn
  25. 25Suez Recycling and Recovery UKWaste treatment, recycling and collection services£1bn
exact ONS/HMRC/MHCLG/PSS fields

How it is bought

Frameworks

Most spend runs through Crown Commercial Service agreements rather than one-off tenders.

Concentration

Top-heavy

A small group of strategic suppliers holds contracts across several departments.

Per household

£1111

a year across 30.0 million households

exact ONS/HMRC/MHCLG/PSS fields

Source link check

Data last updated 20 Jun 2026, 00:00

Supplier spend sits inside the £77.3bn a month of government spending, funded by tax receipts.