A Race You Don’t Want to Win
Winning construction contracts can feel like a race to the bottom on price. You’re not the only one who thinks so. Tender lists across the UK are crowded and profit margins are thin, so many builders still assume the lowest bid always wins. Yet records in The Gazette show that slashing prices often ends in losses and sleepless nights. The tide is turning: clients now look for best value, not just the cheapest number. Show the benefits you deliver, prove you’re reliable, and explain the extra value you add, and you can win work without cutting your margin. This guide gives you six proven tactics to win on value, not price.
The 2025 Tender Landscape in the UK
The construction-contract market is large but picky in 2025. Government bodies alone expect to release about £31 billion in public-works tenders this year, ranging from hospital make-overs to local rail upgrades. Beyond that, new-build work hit £139 billion in 2023 and inched higher again during 2024, even with a slow economy.
Prices are still rising, just less sharply. Tender prices are forecast to climb roughly 2.75 % in 2025, driven mainly by tight labour and tougher rules, not soaring material costs. Competition is fierce: UK bid teams win only 46 % of the tenders they enter. That’s the best hit rate worldwide, yet it still means every second bid loses.
The work is out there, but to secure it you must prove clear value—not just flash the lowest price.
Why Price-Only Bids Fail
Dropping your price to rock-bottom may feel like the fastest way to win construction contracts. The facts say otherwise. New Best Value rules make public buyers score bids on quality, green impact and social value as well as cost. Firms that ignore this face three traps: gaps in scope, squeezed trades, and no contingency. A National Audit Office study found 70 % of big UK projects in 2023 ran over budget by more than 10 %, most were price-led awards. Clients now prefer bids that prove whole-life savings, firm risk plans and on-time delivery. Cut too deep and you swap a quick win for lost profit, damaged reputation and sleepless nights.
Six Proven Ways to Win Construction Contracts — Without Slashing Your Rates
Nail Your PQQ & Compliance Early
Many public buyers in Britain now ask for the PAS 91 form before they even read your bid. Fill it in once, do it well, and you can reuse the same answers on every new construction tendering job.
Next, open an account on Constructionline (or a similar portal). Upload your PAS 91 pack and set a reminder to update it every three months.
This early prep means your team can spend time sharpening value, not chasing paperwork—and it keeps your bid from being rejected on day one.
Clarify & Prove Your Unique Value
Most builders say they deliver “quality on time.” Few prove it. Check the last year of jobs. Count snags, record finish dates, track carbon saved. Turn these numbers into proof. Show the client what they gain: fewer extras, faster hand-over, lower bills. Now your bid sells value, not price, and meets Cabinet Office rules that favour the best overall offer when awarding construction contracts.
Build a Reusable Bid Library
Winning teams rarely start with a blank page. Create a cloud folder of model answers, case studies, organograms, and cost build-ups. Tag each item by trade, sector, and framework so you can drag-and-drop the right evidence in minutes. Add a pricing workbook that links labour constants to current materials indices—this keeps your construction estimating tight even when markets shift. A maintained library cuts internal bid prep time by up to 40 per cent and lets you spend the saved hours tailoring quality responses.
Showcase Track Record & KPIs Through Frameworks
Framework agreements—think SCAPE or Pagabo—screen suppliers for skill and social value first. Get accepted and you receive a steady flow of mini-tenders, skipping the full bid battle each time. Highlight the numbers buyers like: on-time jobs, zero-snag handovers, accident-free hours. Post these KPIs on your website so AI search tools can pick them up. Most frameworks also run post-project reviews, giving you third-party proof of your performance for future construction contracts.
Quantify Social Value & ESG
Central-government buyers now give at least 10 % of tender marks to social value. List what you already do: take on apprentices, recycle site waste, spend with local suppliers. Match each action to the Government Social Value Model. If possible, give each one a cash value. State how you will measure and share the results. Hard numbers beat loose promises and help win public-sector construction contracts.
Leverage Digital Bid Portals & Post-Bid Debriefs
More than 200 UK public bodies post tenders only on online portals. Set keyword alerts—“construction contracts”, “framework refurbishment”, “MEAT award”—so new jobs land in your inbox. Add every closing date to your bid calendar. After sending a bid, ask for a debrief, even when you win. Record the scores and comments, save them in your bid library, and update your next submission. Each loop lifts your hit rate.
Mini Case Study – Oakstone Build’s £2.4 Million Refurb Win
Oakstone Build, a 25-person contractor in Surrey, spent years firing off “price-and-pray” bids and scraping a 22 % success rate. In 2024, the business decided to chase construction contracts on value, not price. Here’s how the team landed a £2.4 million school-refurb framework slot without trimming a single pound from their estimate.
- Compliance first. They completed a PAS 91 pack once, uploaded it to Constructionline, and kept the evidence folder up to date. That single move eliminated six repeat forms across later tenders.
- Quantified proof points. Site data showed 96 % on-time completions and a 1.8 % snag rate over 12 projects. Those hard numbers replaced “high-quality” fluff in every answer.
- Social value. Oakstone counted local-labour hours and student site visits. They matched each figure to the UK Social Value Model. The buyer awarded nine out of ten points for community impact.
- Framework route. Oakstone avoided the open market. They joined the SCAPE regional framework, which scores bids 70 % on quality and 30 % on cost. Early talks let them plan the phases, cut risk, and keep a healthy margin.
- Digital alerts. Keyword alerts on Contracts Finder warned them the very morning the mini-competition went live. With a full 28 days in hand, the team shaped a focused bid instead of rushing at the last minute.
Results: Their bid scored 87/100 and beat two cheaper rivals. Oakstone won the two-year refurb job, lifting its tender hit rate to 48 % while earning a solid 12 % gross margin. The lesson is clear: you can win UK construction contracts without joining a price war.
Common Pitfalls Checklist
- Skipping PAS 91 details and being screened out before scoring even starts.
- Slashing profit to “look competitive”, then bleeding margin on site.
- Ignoring the 10 % social-value weighting now mandatory on central-government jobs.
- Copy-pasting boilerplate answers that don’t match the client’s project or KPIs.
- Missing digital-portal clarifications and deadline alerts—late submissions are binned unread.
- Failing to run a post-bid debrief, so the same mistakes creep into the next proposal.
FAQ: How To Win A Construction Contract
How much is social value worth in a UK construction tender?
Central-government buyers must score at least 10 % of every tender on social value outcomes.
What is PAS 91, and do I need it?
PAS 91 is the UK’s standardised pre-qualification questionnaire; completing it once lets you reuse the answers across multiple tenders and speeds up compliance checks.
What does a 70 : 30 quality/price weighting mean?
Frameworks such as SCAPE assess bids 70 % on quality and 30 % on cost, so value evidence outweighs the headline price.
What’s a healthy bid success rate?
Across all sectors, UK firms win about 45 %–46 % of the tenders they pursue—selective bidding and strong go/no-go filters lift that figure.
Wrap Up
Winning construction contracts isn’t about crossing the line with the lowest number—it’s about proving you’re the best long-term bet. Nail compliance early, quantify the value you add, and keep iterating your bid library with every debrief. Follow the strategies in this guide and you’ll protect your margins while lifting your strike-rate. Ready to put these ideas into practice? Book a complimentary 15-minute Scale Session call and we’ll pinpoint the quickest tweaks to make your next tender stand out—no hard sell, just practical advice you can use this quarter.