Professional Bid Writing Services for UK Tenders

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.

For a more detailed breakdown, see our page on the cost of outsourced bid writing for public sector tenders.

We're proud to have received many testimonials and reviews from clients who have used our expert bid writing services.

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.

Need support with an upcoming tender? Speak to one of our bid experts.

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.

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.

Need help? Talk to our expert bid writers for tailored advice. Call us on 01204 238046 or email hello@thorntonandlowe.com.

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. Over the last 17 years, we have completed thousands of successful bids and received feedback from the buyer nearly each time. This means we know what is important to every 'buyer type', 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 advise on which tenders are likely to be a better fit for your business. This increases win rates and your bidding return on investment.

And we offer expert bid writing services! Don't take our word for it - take a look at our case studies, testimonials and external reviews.

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.

Speak to one of our bid experts!

Our Bid Writing Guide Ultimate Guide is extensive, including bid writing tips, procurement, bid evaluation and the tender process. This helps organisations improve their bid writing skills and develop stronger tender responses. 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 one 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.

The construction industry has a longer history than most in bid writing and tendering. Get construction bid support or view live construction frameworks. Construction bid writing, including construction professional services, is over 30% of our business.

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 around 30% of our bid writing work.

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
• Monthly free bid related webinars!

Our team can help you develop clear, compliant social value responses that show how your commitments will be delivered, monitored and evidenced throughout the contract.

Our social value bid writing service helps you turn existing activity into clear, compliant tender responses. This may include local employment, apprenticeships, skills development, supply chain opportunities, environmental improvements, community engagement or contract-specific added value.

We can also help you develop a more structured social value approach before you bid. This includes identifying realistic commitments, setting measurable targets and creating a process for tracking progress during contract delivery.

By building stronger social value evidence, you can respond to tender questions with more confidence and show evaluators how your commitments will be delivered in practice. We can support with individual social value responses, wider strategy development and monitoring systems aligned with buyer expectations, including the Social Value Model and TOMs where relevant.

AI is now part of the bidding conversation, but it needs to be used carefully. While AI tools can support drafting, research, bid libraries and response development, they cannot replace bid strategy, compliance checks, evaluator insight or a clear understanding of the buyer’s requirements.

Thornton & Lowe provides bid software and AI bid writing guidance to help clients understand where AI can add value and where human review remains essential. We can help you use AI-supported bidding in a controlled way, with appropriate checks for accuracy, relevance, compliance, tone and evidence.

This means you can benefit from new technology without relying on untested or generic outputs. Our team can advise on AI bidding tools, review AI-assisted content and help you build a practical approach that supports better, faster and more consistent tender responses.

1. 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!
2. 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!
3. 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!
4. 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 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.

Common Mistakes to Avoid: Generic Responses

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.