London's largest organisations want to work with small and diverse businesses

The London Anchor Institutions' Network (LAIN) is a partnership between the public sector, education, cultural, faith-based and private industry organisations.

Its members want to buy more goods and services from London's smaller and diverse-owned businesses. They include:

• Greater London Authority (GLA)

• London Fire Brigade

• Metropolitan Police

• NHS London

• Transport for London (TfL)

• Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC)

• University of London

Finding contract opportunities

Find more information about contract opportunities and how to do business with LAIN with these helpful resources:

• Contract opportunities with the NHS

• Becoming a supplier to the NHS

• Contract opportunities (more than £100k) with Transport for London, the Greater London Authority and Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC)

• Becoming a supplier to TfL, GLA or OPDC

• Contract opportunities with the Metropolitan Police

• Becoming a supplier to the Metropolitan Police

• Contract opportunities with London Fire Brigade

• Becoming a supplier to London Fire Brigade

• Becoming a supplier to the University of London

All public authority contracts are published on the UK government's public tender portals, including:

• Contracts Finder

• Find a Tender Service

• CompeteFor

You'll need to register as a supplier in order to tender. New contracts are added all the time, so check back in regularly to stay up to date with all the latest opportunities.

Top tip: Use the "Advanced Search" option to identify contracts particularly suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or businesses from the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VSCEs).

Public institutions are looking to reserve contracts under the relevant UK public-sector threshold, for London based and/or smaller businesses, including those from the voluntary, community and social enterprises.

Top tip: Search for "Reserved Contract" in the opportunity title or description.

Guides to public procurement

• Watch the webinar below explaining how to find and access tender opportunities with members of the LAIN network, including the NHS, Greater London Authority, London Fire Brigade, Metropolitan Police Service and Transport for London.

  • You can also view the presentation slides from the webinar [PDF, 4.2MB].

• LAIN Guide to Social Value 2023 [PDF, 1.3 MB]

• LAIN Guide to public procurement 2023 [PDF, 442KB]

• Doing business with government: Guide for SMEs

Business support organisations

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund provides funding to help boost small business productivity, encourage growth, increase job opportunities and restore a sense of local pride. Projects are funded until March 2025.

Supplier readiness

Of these projects, the following organisations provide supplier readiness support to businesses:

• Inclusive Supply Chain (Newable).

• Minority Business Matters (Heart of the City).

• Enterprise Professional Support (Selby Trust).

• Employment Support (West London Alliance).

• The Supplier Readiness Programme (Westminster City Council).

Grow London Local: Support for London's small businesses

No matter where you're based in London, you'll find relevant support and guidance on business planning, sales and marketing and much more, as well as opportunities to connect with like-minded business owners. Visit Grow London Local now

Disclaimer: Please note these guides have been created by and for the London Anchor Institutions' Network (LAIN) and may not reflect the specific procurement approaches, requirements and resources of other clients; it does not replace the procurement regulations, policies or procedures set up by legislation and/ or specific buying organisation which must be adhered to at all times.