Buyer profile · Central government
British Library tenders and contracts
Official name on notices: British Library Board
- Tenders published
- 8
- About one every 46 days
- Contracts awarded
- 68
- To 68 different suppliers
- Value awarded
- £12.2m
- 66 contracts, frameworks excluded
- Typical contract
- £39k
- Median value awarded
- Open now
- 0
- 5 contracts end in 90 days
Figures cover in the last 12 months, from notices on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder.
Open tenders
British Library has no tenders open right now.
Coming up
Pipeline, market engagement and planned procurement notices: early warning of tenders to come.
- £15mestimated
- £600kestimated
- £120kestimated
- Value not stated
- £5.09mestimated
When it goes to market
Tender notices published each month. Active in 6 of 12 months.
What it buys
Procurements in the last 12 months, by trade.
Who it buys from
Suppliers awarded contracts in the last 12 months, by value awarded (frameworks excluded).
How it buys
How much of its work was open to any supplier.
- Advertised openly (any supplier could bid)14%
- Framework call-off (only suppliers on the framework)3%
- Invited quotes (the buyer chose whom to ask)57%
- Direct award (no competition)26%
Scorecard
How we scoreHow British Library has bought over the last 12 months, compared with similar buyers.
- Time to bid
- 26 days
- Shorter than 89% of central government buyers
- Based on 7 advertised tenders
- Advertised openly
- 14%
- Lower than 71% of central government buyers
- Based on 72 procurements
- Won by small firms
- 82%
- Higher than 92% of central government buyers
- Based on 74 winning suppliers
- Bids per contract
- 6.5
- More than 79% of central government buyers
- Based on 8 awards
- Split into lots
- 13%
- Higher than 64% of central government buyers
- Based on 8 advertised tenders
- Direct awards
- 26%
- Lower than 63% of central government buyers
- Based on 72 procurements
- Cancelled
- 0%
- About the same as most central government buyers
- Based on 8 tenders
Compared with other central government buyers
British Library: 26 days
Show as a table
| Range | Buyers |
|---|---|
| 0–5 days | 0 |
| 5–10 days | 0 |
| 10–15 days | 0 |
| 15–20 days | 0 |
| 20–25 days | 6 |
| 25–30 days | 31 |
| 30–35 days | 32 |
| 35–40 days | 8 |
| 40–45 days | 5 |
| 45–50 days | 0 |
| 50–55 days | 0 |
| 55–60 days | 0 |
| 60+ days | 0 |
British Library: 6.5
Show as a table
| Range | Buyers |
|---|---|
| 0–2 bids | 3 |
| 2–4 bids | 29 |
| 4–6 bids | 27 |
| 6–8 bids | 6 |
| 8–10 bids | 6 |
| 10–12 bids | 3 |
| 12–14 bids | 1 |
| 14–16 bids | 1 |
| 16–18 bids | 3 |
| 18–20 bids | 0 |
| 20+ bids | 0 |
British Library: 14%
Show as a table
| Range | Buyers |
|---|---|
| 0–10% | 33 |
| 10–20% | 24 |
| 20–30% | 21 |
| 30–40% | 9 |
| 40–50% | 8 |
| 50–60% | 11 |
| 60–70% | 7 |
| 70–80% | 9 |
| 80–90% | 10 |
| 90–100% | 19 |
British Library: 82%
Show as a table
| Range | Buyers |
|---|---|
| 0–10% | 3 |
| 10–20% | 5 |
| 20–30% | 13 |
| 30–40% | 18 |
| 40–50% | 33 |
| 50–60% | 27 |
| 60–70% | 22 |
| 70–80% | 7 |
| 80–90% | 12 |
| 90–100% | 5 |
Each column is a group of central government buyers with similar figures. The coloured column holds British Library.See the full scoreboard
Contracts ending in the next 90 days
Contracts like these are often re-tendered. Knowing early gives you time to prepare.
| Contract | Current supplier | Value | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| 002891 recruitment services | Osborne Thomas Ltd | £47k | 18 Dec 2026 |
| HR Optimisation Review | Osborne Thomas Ltd | £50k | 21 Dec 2026 |
| 002830 Audience Discovery & Design : Insight for Research & Culture at the British Library | DJS Research Ltd | £110k | 20 Jan 2027 |
| 002734 British Library IT Applications Skills Development | Happy Computers Ltd | £60k | 31 Jan 2027 |
| Recruitment Services - Interim H&S Consultant | Osborne Thomas Ltd | £20k | 31 Jan 2027 |
Recent contract awards
| Contract | Won by | Value | Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creating a Prioritised List of Assets | Buro Happold | — | 10 Nov 2026 |
| Footfall Counters for Corporate Reporting | PFM Intelligence UK Limited | — | 4 Nov 2026 |
| 002894 PLR library loans data | Civica UK Limited | — | 3 Nov 2026 |
| Living Knowledge Network exhibition | Culture People CIC | — | 28 Oct 2026 |
| 002884 interim senior HR support services | Osborne Thomas Ltd | — | 22 Oct 2026 |
| Recruitment Services - Interim H&S Consultant | Osborne Thomas Ltd | — | 16 Oct 2026 |
| 002745 British Library Valuation Services | Savills (UK) Limited | £123k | 12 Oct 2026 |
| 002883 pension review and replacement advice | Barnett Waddingham LLP | — | 2 Oct 2026 |
| 002653 British Library Future Web Programme | Manifesto Digital Limited | £5.09m | 1 Oct 2026 |
| 002891 recruitment services | Osborne Thomas Ltd | — | 23 Sept 2026 |