A report has revealed Westmorland and Furness Council is one of the top UK councils for creating the most business opportunities through tenders, with some including Westmorland and Furness Council offering more than 400 contracts in the last two years alone.

Amng some of Westmorland and Furness Councils current tenders are a £3.6 million tender for temporary traffic management support for the delivery of schemes to support the Council's in-house highway teams. Another current tender for £6million to procure a framework for the hire of a range of operated plant equipment to support the council’s in-house highway maintenance over four years. The council last month awarded over £3 million in tenders for software to support the councils service delivery.

The report comes as the Local Government Association is calling for sustainable funding for councils ahead of the Budget next week, to drive local growth in key sectors and help meet the government's fiscal targets.

The business finance experts at money.co.uk business bank accounts have analysed tender data from 358 UK councils over the past two years and ranked councils according to the volume of tenders created per capita.

Councils creating the most business opportunities through tenders:

Council	Population	Total tenders (last 2 years: July 2023 - July 2025)	Tenders per 100,000 residents	Tenders per 1,000 businesses	Tier
Westmorland and Furness	228,187	418	183	36.5	Platinum
Herefordshire	189,890	336	177	31.3	Platinum
Cumberland	276,876	483	174	43.0	Platinum
Milton Keynes	298,270	437	147	35.2	Platinum
Haringey	262,895	384	146	29.8	Platinum
Leicester	379,780	517	136	38.2	Gold
Westminster	211,508	278	131	5.1	Gold
Blackpool	142,708	183	128	47.5	Gold
Ipswich	139,378	178	128	38.1	Gold
Derry and Strabane	150,859	189	125	34.1	Gold
Sandwell	347,551	425	122	42.7	Gold
Bath and North East Somerset	199,818	240	120	28.3	Gold
West Dunbartonshire	88,750	106	119	59.9	Gold
Cambridge	149,963	174	116	35.0	Gold
Isle of Wight	140,906	153	109	32.7	Gold
Nottingham	329,276	350	106	35.7	Silver
Chesterfield	104,883	111	106	33.3	Silver
Swindon	238,417	247	104	35.1	Silver
Wokingham	183,870	189	103	22.7	Silver
North Tyneside	211,769	214	101	39.9	Silver

 

The platinum tier highlights the five UK councils creating the most business opportunities through tenders.

This band includes Westmorland and Furness Council, which offered 418 total tenders, or 183 tenders per 100,000 residents, in the last two years – the highest rate in the UK.

All five platinum councils outperform the national average for tender activity, at around 43 per 100,000 residents in the last two years, or 12 per 1,000 businesses.

The construction sector has secured the most council tenders in the last two years, at  22,150 contracts.

Health sector firms have earned the most from council tenders in that time, at an estimated £740 billion.

Joe Phelan, money.co.uk business bank account expert, said:

"For businesses in sectors like construction, professional services, healthcare, or specialist supply, council contracts offer major opportunities. But they also come with strict financial scrutiny.

"Before awarding contracts, councils will almost always assess a business's financial stability. That means clear, up-to-date accounts, strong cash flow, and evidence that your operations can handle the scale and demands of public sector work.

"To stand out, your financial systems need to be well organised. A dedicated business bank account helps keep finances separate and makes it easier to generate the reports councils expect. The businesses that can quickly demonstrate both financial health and operational readiness are more often than not the ones councils will trust to deliver."