What is CompeteFor?
CompeteFor is a free-to-register online marketplace that connects small and medium-sized businesses with subcontract and supply chain opportunities arising from major UK infrastructure and construction programmes. It was launched in 2008 by the London Development Agency to open up the London 2012 Olympic supply chain, is now delivered by BiP Solutions, and continues as a mechanism to help SMEs benefit from large-scale investment in infrastructure.
Unlike Find a Tender or Contracts Finder, CompeteFor is not a statutory notice service. It is used mainly by the large prime contractors and tier 1 construction firms that have won major government contracts to advertise the subcontract and supply chain packages they need to deliver those contracts. In practice, most councils, hospital trusts and government departments do not advertise on CompeteFor. What you find there are mainly opportunities from tier 1 contractors and their joint ventures, posting requirements for specialist works, materials and services that sit below the main contract level.
The programmes advertising supply chain opportunities on CompeteFor are major transport, energy and public estate projects representing multi-billion-pound infrastructure investment, and the subcontract opportunities flowing from them range from specialist civil engineering and mechanical and electrical works through to professional services, environmental consultancy and logistics support.
CompeteFor was specifically designed to make these supply chain opportunities accessible to businesses that would not ordinarily have the visibility or relationships to know that packages were being let. The platform is free for suppliers to register and use, and notices are published openly without requiring pre-qualification at the platform level, though individual opportunities will often have their own selection criteria set by the advertising prime contractor.
Who advertises on CompeteFor?
The businesses advertising on CompeteFor are primarily tier 1 construction prime contractors and major programme delivery organisations. These are the firms that hold the primary contract with the public sector client and are responsible for assembling the supply chain needed to deliver the works. They use CompeteFor to reach a wider pool of specialist subcontractors and suppliers than their existing frameworks and preferred supplier lists would provide.
In practice, you will find notices from joint ventures formed specifically for major programmes (such as the various HS2 construction joint ventures), from established construction contractors working on regulated sector frameworks, and from some major transport and defence operators who sit adjacent to the primary public sector procurement routes. The Ministry of Defence has also used CompeteFor for certain categories of supply chain requirement, and some of the large transport operators involved in major infrastructure delivery have advertised there.
Opportunity values on CompeteFor vary widely by package. Larger packages at the prime contract level will be advertised on Find a Tender or through specific procurement frameworks rather than CompeteFor, which is positioned as the route to market for the smaller, specialist packages that primes need to let at volume. For a specialist subcontractor or a materials supplier, this range is often exactly where the realistic pipeline sits.
Notice types on CompeteFor include early expressions of interest, pre-qualification questionnaires, invitation to tender packs and shorter request-for-quotation notices. The formality of the process varies considerably between programmes and between individual prime contractors. Some run structured mini-competitions; others use CompeteFor more informally to identify potential suppliers before opening direct discussions.
How CompeteFor differs from public sector portals
Understanding the difference between CompeteFor and public sector procurement portals such as Find a Tender, Contracts Finder or Public Contracts Scotland is important for any business trying to build a comprehensive view of its pipeline.
Public sector portals publish notices from contracting authorities: councils, NHS trusts, government departments, universities, police forces, housing associations and other bodies that are legally required to follow the Procurement Act 2023 and its predecessor rules. These buyers are spending public money and must follow defined procedures for above-threshold contracts, which means the notices they publish carry formal legal obligations around timescales, standstill periods and debrief rights. The process is more structured, the documentation more extensive, and the evaluation criteria are required to be disclosed in advance.
CompeteFor, by contrast, carries notices from private sector prime contractors. When a construction joint venture advertises a subcontract package on CompeteFor, it is not subject to the Procurement Act. There is no statutory obligation to run a standstill period, no requirement to disclose evaluation weightings in the same way, and the buyer can move faster and with more commercial discretion. For suppliers, this can mean shorter lead times between notice publication and award decision. It also means that relationships, programme knowledge and early engagement with the prime contractor's supply chain team carry more weight than they would in a formally regulated process.
This distinction matters practically. A business that monitors only public sector portals will miss the CompeteFor supply chain pipeline entirely. A business that monitors only CompeteFor will not see the direct public sector contracts for which it might also be eligible. The two sources are complementary rather than competing, and a complete market view requires both.
TenderSignal and CompeteFor
TenderSignal includes CompeteFor public notice listings in its daily feed alongside notices from the national portals and 600+ UK buyer portals. When you set up your business profile and configure your sector interests, you receive matched opportunities from both streams in the same digest, without needing to check CompeteFor separately each day.
For businesses working in construction, civil engineering, infrastructure or specialist professional services, this combination is particularly useful. A firm that provides specialist groundworks or drainage solutions, for example, might be eligible both for direct council and National Highways contracts advertised on public sector portals and for subcontract packages on HS2 or Network Rail advertised through CompeteFor. TenderSignal surfaces both in a single ranked feed, ordered by AI relevance score against your business description.
To make the most of CompeteFor notices in TenderSignal, ensure your business profile includes the relevant sectors and CPV code clusters for your type of work. For construction and infrastructure work, the relevant clusters cover civil engineering works, building construction, electrical installation, mechanical engineering services, environmental services and specialist consultancy. If you work across both direct public sector and supply chain routes, describe both in your profile so TenderSignal ranks notices from both routes for you.
TenderSignal also covers the direct public sector portals that award the primary contracts that then generate CompeteFor supply chain work: Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales, eTendersNI, and buyer-specific systems for Network Rail, the MOD, NHS trusts and local authorities across England. This means you can monitor the primary contract pipeline, understand which primes are winning major programmes, and position your business with the right supply chain contacts before the subcontract packages are let.
Who should monitor CompeteFor
CompeteFor is most relevant for businesses that sit in the supply chain for major infrastructure and construction programmes rather than, or as well as, bidding directly for public sector contracts.
Specialist subcontractors in civil engineering, groundworks, piling, drainage, structural steel, reinforced concrete, mechanical and electrical works, and specialist fit-out will find the most consistent pipeline of relevant opportunities. These are the trades and specialisms that major infrastructure programmes require in volume, and CompeteFor exists precisely to open up that pipeline to smaller businesses that would otherwise need to rely on relationships with specific prime contractors to hear about packages.
Materials suppliers and manufacturers who sell into large construction projects also benefit from monitoring CompeteFor. Notices for aggregate, precast concrete, specialist steelwork, cabling, modular components and construction plant hire appear regularly from the major programmes. For a regional or specialist manufacturer, a supply arrangement with an HS2 joint venture or a Heathrow expansion contractor represents a different scale of opportunity from a typical council or NHS contract.
Professional services firms providing project management, quantity surveying, environmental impact assessment, geotechnical consultancy, planning support and similar disciplines to major infrastructure programmes will also find relevant notices. Some of these firms may simultaneously bid directly on public sector framework agreements for professional services and pursue subcontract advisory roles within major programme delivery teams. Monitoring both channels gives a fuller picture of the available pipeline.