As a bid writing company, we offer professional bid writing services with over a 78% win rate. Our mission goes beyond just writing or responding to tenders; we provide a full bid management solution focused on winning contracts. We specialise in winning tenders and frameworks in the public sector, including central and local government, education, housing, councils, the NHS, and emergency services. Get a free bid and tender writing quote today.
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Bid Writing Services - UK Tender Specialists
As bid writing consultants, we are the largest in the UK. This is because we partner with our clients to provide consistent, high-quality bid writing services which produce the results our clients need. All of this is delivered by our in-house bid team. Our bid writing partnerships provide our clients a consistent team, who know about their business, but who are available on an adhoc basis.
Our core clients are small and medium-sized businesses that require reliable, professional bid writing support. We provide bid and tender writing capacity, helping them to improve success rates and win valuable contracts.
We don’t just write bids - we work with you to refine your tendering process, ensuring continuous improvement. From the initial call through to contract award, we provide expert guidance to make each bid stronger while reducing your workload. Post-submission, we help analyse feedback to improve future responses.
Thornton & Lowe have recently started working with our company and the impact has been outstanding. Their team is exceptionally thorough, professional, and highly knowledgeable. From start to finish, the bid writing process has been seamless, well-structured, and clearly communicated. The quality of their work is excellent, and they have already added real value to our submissions.
Highly recommended.
Mark Norris
★★★★★
How Our Bid Writing Services Help You Win More Contracts
Our services are designed to make the tendering process more efficient and successful. We help businesses:
Develop high-scoring, quality and social value responses tailored to each tender
Ensure full compliance with buyer requirements - this includes bid no bid advice
Apply lessons learned from each tender submission
Reduce internal workload, allowing teams to focus on core business operations
We have been developing our bid writing solutions for over 15 years. Our focus is minimising client disruption. There's often a lot to learn in little time, especially on your first bid. That's why we've focused on continually improving our service to ensure that we build close working relationships with our clients. This means that the bidding process becomes simpler and smoother over time.
Some of our clients have worked with us for a number of years. We work hard to retain them and we believe the key is having a high performing, happy bid team. We directly employ our team to ensure consistency. The last thing you want is to invest your time sharing your approach and key information, only to then have to repeat it for each bid.
First time I've ever used a company for support with bid writing. Worth every penny! Ronan and the team were excellent and kept me updated on progress throughout the tight timescale and more importantly the quality was really good and made my life so much easier. I would highly recommend Thornton & Lowe.
Joanna Sedley-Burke
★★★★★
Comprehensive Bid Writing Support
Our service is fully outsourced. We provide guidance and strategy, but we find a lot more clients simply want us to get the work done. We offer a full range of bid and tender writing services to suit different business needs, including:
Providing outsourced bid writing – Ideal for businesses without in-house bid teams. This includes creating a plan, making use of frameworks, monitoring tenders, and completing mini-competitions.
Bid management – Overseeing the entire bid process, from planning to submission. This is part of our standard bid writing/management quotes.
Bid reviews – This gives you access to our expertise, but requires less capacity. This can make it a more cost-effective option.
Bid writing courses – Training your team in effective tender writing strategies, as well as understanding procurement.
Tender portal management – Managing opportunity tracking and submissions.
Bid and tender writing services – Our core business, with thousands of successful tenders for businesses across a range of sectors.
Bid administration – Handling document formatting, compliance checks, and submission requirements. This includes portal management during and after live tenders.
Bid research – Gathering intelligence on opportunities, competitors, and buyer priorities. We don't just collate it - we ensure it makes an impact.
Bid strategy – Developing structured approaches to tendering for long-term success. Many of our clients provide an excellent service or product and have an excellent businesses. Our role is to help them create a plan to win more work in the UK public sector.
Take a look at our bid writing services section, which provides further details and testimonials, as well as a hub of information on bid and tender writing.
Professional Tender Writers with a Wealth of Experience
At Thornton & Lowe we are proud to have a wealth of experience working in all the main industry sectors from construction right through to healthcare. Our directly employed team of professional tender writers work closely with you throughout the tender or ITT process, ensuring we maximise your chances of success. Our proven bid management system has been designed to minimise disruption to our clients.
We directly employ (PAYE) a team of nearly 40 bid staff, which means our clients know we will be there for them. You work with the same bid writer, and supporting team, on each tender or framework, which allows our knowledge of your business to grow quickly. We become part of your team and your success.
This is the first time I've used bid support and I was really pleased with the experience. From start to finish, the team was responsive, approchable and knowledgeable. I had an aim to be on a framework for Local Government work and received full marks for all items that Thornton & Lowe were involved with. A big thank you to the team!
Having extra capacity and expertise to support your business to respond to tenders is where Thornton & Lowe steps in. We offer a same-day tender writing quote, ensuring you have rapid access to our expertise when it’s needed most. Along with our prompt service, we provide complimentary guidance on each opportunity to make sure every bid aligns perfectly with your goals and creates value for both parties.
For businesses who have some in-house bid writing capacity, they may choose to produce a draft tender response themselves. They share this with us and request we complete a 'bid review', providing guidance and suggestions on how to improve the quality scores and ensure compliance. Or they may ask we review the response and make improvements, returning an updated and improved response, ready to be submitted. If you have completed and require a bid writing expert's external view point, share your draft and we will provide a fixed fee quote.
Bid Review - Read, Review and Comment
In this lighter-touch bid review service we look at compliance, response structure, unique selling points and added value. We review the draft documents and provide comments and guidance on how our clients can improve their proposal or tender response. We provide feedback in the comments function within Microsoft word, alongside a brief report of key recommendations. During a video call (teams / zoom) we then take your team through the key changes and provide a rationale for our suggestions. This can also acts as brief bid writing training or refresher session for your team.
Bid Review and Improve
This requires more time, as we take your draft as our starting point. Taking ownership and managing the bid to completion, is all part of our bid review and improve service. We collect further information, complete research, check for any updated clarification questions via the portal, and re-write and develop the quality responses, and supporting evidence.
Bid Strategy, Review and Improve
This is the same as the ‘bid review and improve’ above, but with the addition of our involvement at the start of the process. We agree with you the storyboard, structures and win themes of the bid prior to the development of the draft. This means when we get sent the draft (which will be closer to the deadline) there should be less development work required, as we are working from an agreed starting point.
Bid & Tender Writing: FAQs and Guidance
How much do bid writing services cost?
Tender Writing Services - Testimonials
What is bid writing?
What does a professional tender writer do?
Need Bid Writing Help?
DIY Bid Writing vs Professional Tender Writing: Which is Right for You?
One of the most common questions we are asked is: “How much does it cost to get professional help with a tender?”
At Thornton & Lowe, we keep our pricing simple, transparent, and aligned to the value of each opportunity. We usually work on a fixed-fee basis, giving you certainty over budget and scope. For typical tenders and frameworks, fixed fees typically start from £1,500 to £4,000. More complex, high-value bids that require dedicated teams and strategy can range upwards of £20,000. We always confirm the fee upfront after reviewing the tender pack so you know exactly what to expect.
For businesses that want lighter support, our bid review service starts from £450. Many clients draft their own responses and then ask us to refine them, ensuring compliance and maximising evaluation scores. This can be the most cost-effective way to add expert value without full outsourcing.
If you are bidding regularly, our monthly support packages provide ongoing bid capacity. Options include:
Tender tracking and alerts from £390 per month
Bid administration and compliance checks from £1,000 per month
Coaching and mentoring from £750 per month
Full bid writing and strategy support from £1,950 per month
We also provide day-rate support (from £450 to £750 per day) for organisations that need maximum flexibility.
Whether you are an SME responding to your first government tender or an established contractor targeting major frameworks, we provide the right level of support to match your resources, budget, and growth plans. Every quote is tailored and obligation free, ensuring you can make an informed decision before you commit.
We're proud to have received many testimonials and reviews from clients who have used our expert bid writing services.
We have been working with Thornton & Lowe as our strategic work winning partner for over 12 months and working in partnership we have secured numerous new contracts, which will see our turnover double and significantly increase our geographical coverage and client base. This success would not have been possible without the 'can do' attitude, skills and dedication of the whole Thornton & Lowe team.
Ralph Powell, Business Development Director, Sapphire Utility Solutions
Working with Thornton & Lowe recently on a bid project has been a pleasure; Angela simplified the whole process and was hugely supportive. She gave us a lot of advice and guidance and was really patient as we worked our way through it to eventually secure the bid. We faced a few challenges, as it had some unexpected layers requiring us to collaborate efficiently. Angela made this easy and I can honestly say that without her support, I may well have given up!
Isabel Rogers
I was looking for assistance in compiling bids for the various tenders my company was tendering for and that's when I came across Thornton & Lowe. The service I received from Thornton & Lowe, especially from Katie, Katherine and Maria, was nothing but exceptional. Their knowledge and skill for compiling and providing excellent bids for those tendering submissions have been first-class. It's fair to say that my company has been successful in a number of the bids submitted. I would strongly recommend the services offered by Thornton & Lowe if you are looking for a successful bid writing organisation.
Nichol Associates
We engaged with Thornton & Lowe whilst looking for a company who could provide us with expertise and support in managing and writing bids and tenders. We have found working with the team at Thornton & Lowe to be first class. They are organised, have great attention to detail, and have created some superb looking packs for us. I would highly recommend Thornton & Lowe to any company looking for support and guidance in bid writing.
TieTa UK Ltd
We used Thornton and Lowe for our required bid writing. We initially spoke with Graham who was very professional; his knowledge was amazing with regards to our business sector. He then paired us with Maria who then supported and assisted us through the bid writing process all the way up to submitting our bid, which was a tight time frame, but was even submitted one day early, with no stress at all. I give Maria and Graham a 10/10 for their help, support and assistance, and if required will definitely use Thornton and Lowe again without any hesitation.
Steve Taylor
Looking for more detail on our tender writing services? Speak to us or check out our case studies. You can read one example below.
Digital and Technology Services Case Study
Client: DMS Group
"We found Thornton & Lowe initially through a referral from Brother UK, we arranged an initial meeting with Dave Thornton, their Director. From the initial call, Thornton & Lowe took the time to speak at length about the options and services available from them, tailoring a package for us that would scale with our demand for bid writing. They provided not only bid writing services but also guidance with creating our own bid library of stock responses, how to bid more effectively and save money by doing so! Thornton & Lowe also ensured that our policies and documentation were all present and correct, giving the best possible impression for the buyer."
What were you looking for in a solution?
"We were looking to improve our success rates and wanted to bid more intelligently for opportunities, along with putting a process in place for both DMS and Thornton and Lowe to follow. We had a huge amount of knowledge but knew that we needed some assistance with articulating this into a strong business case, also ensuring that all criteria was satisfied in terms of compliance.
The processes that DMS and Thornton & Lowe put into place were robust and we continue to use them to this day. Since their implementation, our success rate has increased significantly and our team now has a number of successful bids completed with a total value of £1-2 million."
What made our solution stand out from the others that you researched?
"Thornton & Lowe always went the extra mile for us, whether it was working late on a tight deadline or the fact we have a dedicated account manager in Adam. Since Thornton & Lowe has taken over the management of our bids, the level of communication and awareness of upcoming bids has helped us not only plan our pipeline, but tender a lot more effectively."
Bid writing is the process of preparing responses to formal tender opportunities, helping organisations secure contracts and funding by presenting their services clearly, compliantly and competitively.
The National Careers Service defines a bid writer’s role as preparing “documents used to pitch for contracts to provide services, or to apply for project funding”.
We see bid writing as an important part of the sales and marketing function for any business involved in formal tenders or contract opportunities. In the public sector especially, bid writers are often responsible for responding to detailed and often lengthy tender documents, where compliance, clarity and quality can have a major impact on the outcome.
In some organisations, a bid writer sits within a wider bid team that may also include bid coordinators, senior bid writers, bid managers, work winning managers, capture managers and bid directors. In smaller businesses, bid writing and management of the tender response process often sits with senior management or is shared across sales teams.
Bid writing is an increasingly valuable skill because buyers are placing greater emphasis on value for money, accountability and transparency. While this has long been a key feature of public sector procurement, larger private sector organisations are also using more formal tender processes, increasing the demand for skilled bid writers and external bid support.
We have been providing outsourced bid writing and bid management support since 2009, helping SME clients access consistent, high-quality bid expertise on an ad hoc basis. For organisations with in-house bid teams, we also provide bid writing training to help improve performance and win rates.
Professional tender writers help businesses win more contracts by producing clear, compliant and persuasive tender submissions.
Unlike general business writers, they understand procurement processes, evaluation criteria and sector-specific compliance requirements. Their role goes beyond writing alone. They help businesses plan stronger responses, present evidence more effectively, and improve the overall quality of submissions.
A professional tender writer typically supports businesses by:
1. Understanding Tender Requirements
Professional tender writers carefully analyse specifications, scoring criteria, and buyer priorities to ensure every response meets expectations. They break down complex procurement documents, identify key themes, and develop a clear response plan.
2. Crafting High-Scoring Tender Responses
Their expertise lies in writing persuasive, structured responses that clearly demonstrate how a business meets or exceeds the buyer’s needs. They focus on: ✔ Clarity & Compliance – Answering every question fully while following procurement rules. ✔ Evidence-Based Writing – Backing claims with case studies, metrics, and testimonials. ✔ Social Value & Innovation – Addressing added value, sustainability, and efficiency gains.
3. Managing Bid Timelines and Submissions
Tender deadlines are strict. Professional writers coordinate input from stakeholders, structure responses effectively, and manage submission logistics to ensure everything is delivered on time.
4. Improving Success Rates
They don’t just write tenders - they continuously refine strategies to improve bid quality and win rates. This includes: ✔ Reviewing unsuccessful tenders and analysing feedback. ✔ Identifying areas for improvement in messaging, compliance, and evidence. ✔ Supporting businesses in building a bid library for future submissions.
5. Supporting Bid Strategy & Competitor Analysis
A professional tender writer understands market trends, procurement shifts, and competitor positioning. They help businesses: ✔ Identify opportunities for growth through public and private sector contracts. ✔ Align bids with best practice methodologies and procurement expectations. ✔ Benchmark against competitors to highlight unique strengths.
Why Use a Professional Tender Writer?
Winning tenders is highly competitive, and even small mistakes can lead to disqualification. A professional tender writer ensures: Responses are structured, well-evidenced, and compelling.
Technical content is clear, compliant, and easy to evaluate.
The business is positioned as the best supplier for the contract.
By working with professional tender writers, like Thornton & Lowe, businesses can win more contracts, reduce internal workload, and continuously improve bid performance.
Winning contracts through tenders is challenging. If you're looking for bid writing help, we offer:
✅ Expert bid support – Get clear, high-scoring responses tailored to buyers. ✅ Bid reviews & improvements – Ensure compliance & maximise scores. ✅ Training & guidance – Upskill your team for long-term bid success.
Let us take the stress out of bid writing. Get bid writing help today!
Writing a winning bid takes time, knowledge, and a clear understanding of what evaluators are looking for. Some businesses manage this in-house, while others rely on professional tender writers to increase their success rates.
The table below compares the two approaches to help you decide which best suits your business.
Factor
DIY Bid Writing
Professional Tender Writing
Experience & Expertise
Limited knowledge of procurement rules and evaluation criteria.
Strong understanding of scoring, compliance, and bid structure.
Time Commitment
Takes longer due to limited experience and resources.
Managed efficiently, freeing up internal teams.
Win Rate
Lower success rates due to weaker responses.
Higher success rates with structured, well-evidenced bids.
Compliance & Accuracy
Risk of missing key requirements, leading to disqualification.
Ensures full compliance, reducing the chance of rejection.
Response Quality
May lack structure, clear messaging, and persuasive writing.
Well-written, clearly presented, and tailored to score highly.
Use of Evidence
Often missing strong case studies, statistics, or proof of success.
Includes case studies, metrics, and testimonials to strengthen bids.
Bid Strategy & Planning
Often rushed, reactive approach.
Planned, structured approach to improving tender success.
Consistency Across Bids
Can vary between submissions.
Follows a structured method for strong, reliable responses.
Cost vs Return
Lower upfront cost but may lead to wasted time and missed opportunities.
Investment in expertise can lead to more contract wins.
Stress & Workload
Can be overwhelming, especially for small teams.
Outsourcing reduces pressure and allows focus on core business.
Choosing the Right Approach
If your business regularly bids for contracts, professional support can help improve success rates, efficiency, and bid quality. For one-off tenders, an internal team may manage, but careful planning is needed.
In most cases, no. Tender writing and bid writing are often used interchangeably. At Thornton & Lowe, the majority of the projects we support involve responding to formal tenders. While bidding covers the entire process - from strategy and pricing to submission - tender writing is focused on developing the response itself. Both skills are essential, but the main difference is that tender writing is a specific part of the broader bidding process.
Outsourcing your bid writing to tendering experts can help your business and team:
Win more tenders. As professional bid writers we work on hundreds of tenders each year. We have completed thousands of successful bids and received feedback from the buyer nearly each time! Over the last 15 years, this means across every 'buyer type' we know what is important to them and what is required to maximise quality scores
Save time. Our bid writing processes ensure we minimise the disruption to your already busy team. We will of course need to understand your solution and collect key facts, figures and your approach, but we do so efficiently. We have worked with the same clients for many years, which means over time we can produce far more, with less from you
Find all key tender opportunities and frameworks. Via our search and selection service, we not only make sure you do not miss any key opportunities in your sector, but we also advice on which tenders are likely to be a 'better-fit' for your business. This increases win rates and your bidding return on investment.
Our Bid Success Programme (BSP) was developed 10 years ago as a solution to the common challenges of using outsourced or freelance bid writing services.
Our Bid Partners have over 15% higher win rate, when compared to ‘adhoc’ clients.
We become your Bid Writing Services Team, which means we can move away from purely fire-fighting when a live tender arrives. We can plan, develop a pipeline, improve systems, monitor your return on investment, and have time to really understand and get ‘under the skin’ of your business.
We provide a single point of contact, supported by a consistent team, ensuring high quality and consistent responses, continuous improvement and continuity for your bids.
We can also monitor tenders for you, provide bid administration support and guide your sales and marketing efforts, prior to a live tender, to maximise your win rates.
Our Bid Writing Guide Ultimate Guide is extensive! Bid writing tips, procurement, bid evaluation and the tender process. Helping organisations improving their bid writing skills to win more tenders! It covers both bidding and procurement, including evaluation criteria and how to improve your bid writing tender scores.
Bid Resource is our dedicated bid recruitment agency sourcing freelance bid managers, writers and directors. As of the few specialist bid recruitment agencies in the UK, we not only supply temporary and permanent bid staff but we can also train and mentor your staff, providing guidance and quality assurance.
Health & social frameworks are critical tools for many home care and domiciliary care agencies across the UK. At Thornton & Lowe we have been successfully working across the healthcare sector since 2009! We have won hundreds of home care tenders for our clients! Health and social care bid writing accounts for 25% of our work.
Maintenance, install and repair tenders are increasingly competitive. If you are looking to save time when bidding for facilities management tenders and increase your win rates - contact us today. We have won tenders across every area of facilities management, which accounts for 30% of our bid writing company.
Buyer expectations for professional services tenders are high. Frameworks are crucial for success, ensuring you can maximise the benefits of your relationships, provided that you have bid writing capacity.
We have delivered bid writing training courses to over 4000 delegates! We offer bidding workshops and bespoke bid training packages to focus on key challenges for your business.
Bespoke bid writing courses delivered at your premises
Bid writing workshops open for businesses to attend, which are delivered both online and in venues across Manchester, Birmingham and London
When it comes to responding to social value tender questions, we really have got you covered. Our team of experts will work with you to craft compelling answers that showcase your commitment to making a positive impact in your community. We'll help you highlight all the amazing ways you're contributing, whether it's through local employment, environmental initiatives, or community engagement projects. This will be built and compliant with the Social Value Model and TOMs.
We can also develop a social value strategy for your business. We'll help you identify areas where you can make the biggest difference and set up systems to track and measure your progress. This way, you'll be able to demonstrate your social value impact not just in your tender responses, but throughout the entire contract delivery process.
By having a strong social value strategy and monitoring systems in place, you'll be setting yourself up for success in future tenders. You'll have a wealth of evidence and data to draw upon, showing that you're not just talking the talk, but walking the walk when it comes to social value. This can give you a serious competitive edge and increase your chances of winning more contracts in the long run.
So, whether you need help with social value tender questions, developing a strategy, or setting up monitoring systems, we are here to support.
Bid software and AI bid writing guidance. When it comes to artificial intelligence and bidding it can seem a little like the 'wild west'! Let our expert team ensure you benefit from an AI bidding product which is fit for purpose now and going forward as technology develops.
Can a new business win a government tender?
Absolutely! While it might seem challenging, new businesses can definitely win government contracts. The key is to focus on opportunities that align with your strengths and experience. Look for tenders that don't require a lengthy track record or massive financial guarantees as the associated risk of the service or requirement is low. Partnering with more established firms through joint ventures can also boost your chances. Don't be afraid to start small and work your way up!
Do I need 3 years of accounts to bid for a government contract?
Not necessarily! While some government tenders may ask for 3 years of financial accounts, it's not always a hard and fast rule. If you're a newer business, you might be able to provide alternative evidence of your financial stability, like bank statements or guarantees. The key is to be upfront about your situation and offer reassurance that you can deliver the goods or services. If in doubt, don't be afraid to ask the procurement team for clarification!
How many references do I need for a government tender?
This can vary depending on the specific tender, but usually, you'll need to provide around 3 references. These should be from contracts you've delivered that are similar in scope and size to the one you're bidding for. If you don't have direct government contract experience, don't panic! References from private sector clients can work too, as long as they showcase your relevant skills and experience. Just make sure to pick references that paint you in the best light!
Do I need accreditations to tender for the government?
It depends on the specific tender and the sector you're in. Some tenders might require certain accreditations, like ISO certifications for quality management or health and safety. Others might be more flexible. The best approach is to carefully read through the tender documents and see what's required. If you're not sure, reach out to the procurement team for guidance. And if you don't have the necessary accreditations, consider whether it's worth investing in them to open up more opportunities in the future.
As a bid writing consultancy we have worked with hundreds of clients to help them win tenders. See our bid writing frequently asked questions (FAQs) and our tendering Q&A, which focused on advice for bidders involved in public sector procurement.
As a bid writing consultants, we do more than just write and submit tenders! We challenge, innovate and improve your tender submissions.
With our bid writing consultants on your team, you'll have a strong partner in putting together a clear, competitive, and successful tender submission.
We offer comprehensive bid management consultancy services to help businesses win UK public sector contracts and frameworks. Our expert team provides end-to-end support, from identifying relevant opportunities to writing and submitting tender submissions. We'll work with you to develop a winning bid strategy, manage the tender process, and ensure compliance with all requirements.
Thornton & Lowe's Tier 1 Contractors Bid Support Services are tailored to meet the unique needs of large contractors in the UK. Our experienced team of bid professionals provides comprehensive support throughout the entire bidding process, ensuring that your organisation submits a compelling and compliant proposals.
