Security Contracts and Tenders

Security procurement covers manned guarding and reception at offices, hospitals, waste facilities and embassies, mobile patrols and key holding, and concierge security for supported housing. Alarm monitoring and the installation and maintenance of CCTV, intruder alarms and access control systems also come up.

Stotles brings together security tenders and contracts from 100+ portals into one search, so you do not have to check each portal separately, and you can set alerts for new opportunities across the UK and Ireland.

If you want to search the government portals directly, Find a Tender carries higher-value contracts across the UK and Contracts Finder carries lower-value contracts in England. Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI cover Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Ireland's eTenders covers Irish public bodies, and many councils, NHS bodies and housing associations publish on their own e-tendering portals such as ProContract. Most security tenders appear on Find a Tender, and police and emergency services security work also appears on the Blue Light e-tendering portal.

Getting public sector security contracts starts with single-site guarding, patrol and key holding contracts from councils, NHS bodies and housing providers, which are realistic for a smaller firm. Tenders score staffing and cover arrangements, training, response times and price. Larger guarding contracts and framework places follow from a track record on smaller sites.

Security officers working on a contract must hold a front-line SIA licence, and buyers check licensing at selection stage. Tenders also set minimum insurance cover and ask for evidence of similar contracts, and security systems work often asks for NSI approval. Under the Procurement Act 2023, suppliers can be excluded for certain criminal convictions, insolvency or failure to pay tax.

The Crown Commercial Service framework for physical, technical and support security services is used for manned guarding and security within soft facilities management, and NHS bodies, councils and central government departments call off from it, sometimes by direct award.

ESPO runs a security services framework for guarding, patrols and key holding, and a separate security and surveillance equipment and services framework for CCTV and access control systems. Councils call off from both. Scotland Excel's security services and cash collection framework covers guarding and key holding for Scottish colleges, universities and enterprise bodies.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office buys guarding for embassies and high commissions overseas, often from local providers. In the UK, councils, NHS trusts and NHS shared services, transport bodies, universities and housing associations are the regular buyers of security services.

Security contracts range from short interim cover of a few months to guarding contracts of three to five years. Security systems maintenance contracts usually run for several years with extension options.

Yes. Many security contracts cover a single building, an interim guarding requirement or key holding for a handful of sites, and buyers such as town councils and housing associations tender these on their own. Short interim contracts are often let quickly when an existing arrangement ends.

Track the expiry dates of existing guarding contracts, facilities management re-procurements and preliminary market engagement notices, which show security work coming due ahead of a notice. On Stotles you can track those signals and the buyers behind them, then follow a notice from pre-tender through to award.

The core codes are 79710000 (Security services) and 79713000 (Guard services), alongside 79711000 (Alarm-monitoring services), 50610000 (Repair and maintenance services of security equipment) and 42961100 (Access control system).