How Doorda’s Procurement Data Can Help Lenders, Insurers and Underwriters
Explore all government, local authority and NHS procurement above £12,000.
In today’s volatile credit environment, invoice insurers, underwriters, and lenders need every edge to stay ahead of risk. One underused but highly valuable source? UK government procurement data.
The UK public sector awards hundreds of billions of pounds in contracts every year. Every one of these contracts is published on official portals for all government, local authority and NHS procurement above £12,000.
This data is also available as a clean, structured and continuously updated dataset from Doorda — and can be linked directly to Companies House data for deeper business insights.
So how can underwriters and invoice financiers use this intelligence to reduce exposure, detect fraud, and better understand sector trends?
What You Can Find on Contracts Finder
Our procurement data is a searchable, single dataset that lists:
- Open and awarded contracts across the UK public sector
- Buyer information, award values, locations, and CPV industry codes
- Key milestones, including approach-to-market, closing, and award dates
- Filters for SME relevance, contract size, region, and procurement stage
- Early market engagement notices (great for lead indicators)
In total, it provides a comprehensive view of who’s bidding, winning, and delivering public sector work.
How This Data Helps You as a Lender or Underwriter
1. Reduce Portfolio Risk Exposure
Use contract value, award frequency, and public sector concentration to:
- Identify clients overexposed to a single buyer or sector
- Forecast cash flows based on contract milestones
- Flag clients taking on contracts too large for their balance sheet
Example: A small civil engineering firm wins a £10M local government contract. By correlating this with past awards and company filings via Companies House, you can assess whether they’re overstretching.
2. Spot Fraud and Financial Misconduct
Compare public procurement data with your client base to:
- Detect shell companies or undisclosed relationships
- Monitor for bid rigging or insider collusion, especially in frameworks or joint ventures
- Validate contract claims before funding invoices
If a client submits an invoice referencing a public contract, you can verify whether they were actually awarded it, and whether the value and timeline match.
3. Understand Sector-Level Trends
Track CPV codes and notice volumes to:
- Anticipate growth in sectors like digital health, renewable energy, or defense
- Benchmark clients’ win rates against industry averages
- Align risk models to shifting procurement priorities
For example, a spike in tenders for AI-based solutions in local government might suggest opportunity — or over-saturation — in the sector.
4. Feed Smart Alerts and Scoring Models
With Doorda, the full procurement dataset is:
- Normalised and updated daily
- Machine-readable, perfect for ingestion into risk engines
- Cross-linked to Companies House via company numbers
That means you can:
- Receive alerts when a client wins or bids on new work
- Link awards to company size, ownership and historical performance
- Detect patterns of phantom bidding, sudden growth, or repeat failed tenders
Linking with Companies House: The Missing Context
Public procurement data on its own is powerful — but when linked to Companies House records via Doorda, you unlock even more:
| Procurement Info | + Companies House Insight | = What You See |
|---|---|---|
| £2M contract awarded | Micro-entity balance sheet | Overexposure risk |
| Multiple framework bids | Same directors, different firms | Collusion or phoenixing |
| Frequent small wins | Same SIC code, no staff | Possible shell company |
| Contract delays | Late filing history | Financial distress pattern |
This fusion of datasets allows you to build composite profiles of risk, spot fraud indicators earlier, and refine your due diligence — even before invoices hit your system.
Getting Started: One Feed, Real-Time Insight
The entire Contracts Finder dataset is available as a tracked, structured dataset via Doorda, with:
- One-click integration with your internal models or CRM
- Access to historic and live contracts
- Full access to all Companies House data, and more…
You can explore tenders by sector, region, CPV code, or company — and automate alerts for anything that matters to your underwriting logic.
Conclusion
Invoice fraud and exposure don’t start when an invoice is submitted — they start earlier: when a client bids, wins, or stretches to deliver a public contract.
By integrating public procurement data into your underwriting and credit risk workflows, you gain:
- Real-time context
- Richer due diligence
- Earlier detection of fraud and overreach
- Sector-wide visibility
And with Doorda, you don’t need to scrape government sites or deal with messy formats. You get the full dataset — cleaned, enriched, and linked to core company data — ready for decision-making.
Want a demo or sample dataset? Reach out and we’ll show you how this data can transform your risk strategy.