What each platform actually is

Platform	What it is	Cost	Built for
Glenigan	Construction project leads and market intelligence. Its site shows over 600,000 live projects, 160 researchers and filters from early planning to contract awarded.	Subscription by quote; no prices published	Suppliers, manufacturers, larger contractors, market analysts
Barbour ABI	Construction project leads platform, analytics and market reports. Claims over 1.6 million projects in its database and around a million research calls a year.	Subscription by quote; no prices published	Product manufacturers, suppliers, larger contractors
Find a Tender	The UK government’s central digital platform for public procurement notices. The enhanced service launched on 24 February 2025 with the Procurement Act 2023.	Free	Anyone bidding for public sector contracts
Contracts Finder	The older government portal. Holds notices for procurements that started under the previous rules, plus award history.	Free	Checking older opportunities and who won what

Figures are each provider’s own claims on its website, checked October 2026. Glenigan’s site footer names Hubexo as the operating company.

Why they rarely work for contractors under £3M

Sviat’s view, from growing his own construction company: these are databases built for huge projects and public tenders. They are not where a £1M–£3M builder wins most of its work. Here is why.

1. Every lead goes to every subscriber

A database lead is not exclusive. The same project lands in the inbox of every contractor, supplier and manufacturer who pays for that region. By the time you call, the architect has already heard ten sales pitches that week.

2. The projects skew too big

The national databases are strongest on large and public schemes, and that is what their filters and alerts push to the top. On the public side, the Procurement Act threshold for most works contracts is £5,193,000 from 1 January 2026 (PPN 023). Contracts above it come with frameworks, accreditation demands and turnover tests that most small contractors cannot meet yet.

3. By contract award, the job is gone

A lot of what you see is at tender or contract-awarded stage. At that point the main contractor has been picked. The only route left is to subcontract to the winner, usually at their price.

4. Public tenders need a bid machine

Public tenders on Find a Tender ask for policies, accreditations, case studies, social value and written quality answers. Without a recognised accreditation and a bid library, the cost of each attempt is high and the win rate is low. Our guide on what bid writing costs shows how to work out whether a tender is even worth pricing.

5. The subscription has to pay for itself

A national subscription is a fixed annual cost against jobs you may never win. For a builder running a 10–20% gross margin, that subscription has to produce real signed work, not just calls. Ask the provider for the full annual price, the minimum term and the notice period before you sign.

When a paid database is worth it

To be fair to Glenigan and Barbour ABI, they do a hard job well. A subscription can pay off when:

• You sell products or materials and need to reach every contractor and specifier on hundreds of projects.
• You are a larger contractor with an estimating and bid team that can price many tenders a month.
• You are a specialist subcontractor who wants to know which main contractor has won which scheme, so you can get on their supply chain early.
• You are targeting public frameworks and need early warning of pipeline and pre-tender activity.

If none of those is you, try a free trial on your own postcode area first and count how many projects you could genuinely win.

What works instead: the relationship route

Almost every private project worth having is visible months before a builder is chosen: in a planning application. That information is public and free on your council’s planning portal. The people named on it, the architect, the agent and the developer, decide who gets invited to price.

Source	Cost	Why it works under £3M
Council planning portals (approved applications)	Free	Local, early and filterable by street; you see the architect or agent by name
Low-cost planning data services	From tens of pounds a month (for example, PlanWire publishes £49 a month + VAT)	Saves time checking several council portals
Architects and quantity surveyors	Your time	One good architect can feed you several projects a year
Developers and repeat clients	Your time	Repeat work with no tender at all
Find a Tender, filtered to small local lots	Free	Useful once you have accreditation and a bid library; set alerts by region and value

The full method, with every source compared, call and voicemail scripts for architects and QSs, and a lead tracker, is in our free Construction Project Leads Guide.

A 30-day plan to replace the database

1. Week 1: pick your A-grade project. Write down the job type, value range, area and client you actually make money on. Ignore everything else.
2. Week 1: pull 30 approved applications from your local council portals that match it. Note the architect or agent on each.
3. Week 2: call the architects first. Ask what they have coming through planning and how they choose contractors. Offer early-stage pricing help, not a sales pitch.
4. Week 3: send one proof pack. Two or three similar finished projects with photos, values and a client reference, plus your insurance and accreditation.
5. Week 4: track and follow up. Log every contact, next step and date. Most of the work comes from the second and third conversation, not the first.

Repeat it every month and the pipeline compounds. That is what growing contractors do instead of buying more leads.

FAQ

Is Find a Tender free to use?

Yes. Find a Tender is the UK government’s central digital platform for public procurement notices. Searching notices and registering as a supplier is free. Since 24 February 2025 it is where new procurements under the Procurement Act 2023 are published.

What is the difference between Find a Tender and Contracts Finder?

Find a Tender is the central digital platform for procurements run under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025. Contracts Finder holds notices for procurements that started under the previous rules, so it is now mainly useful for older opportunities and award history.

How much does Glenigan or Barbour ABI cost?

Neither publishes prices on its website (checked October 2026). Both sell subscriptions by quote after a demo or free trial, priced by the regions, sectors and features you need. Ask for the full annual cost, the minimum contract term and the cancellation terms in writing.

Glenigan or Barbour ABI: which is better?

Both are large UK project databases that track projects from planning to contract award, with research teams who phone project contacts. Compare a trial of both on your own area. For most contractors under about £3M turnover, the bigger question is whether a national database is the right tool at all.

What is the best source of construction leads for a small contractor?

For most contractors turning over up to around £3M, the best sources are relationships: architects, quantity surveyors, developers and repeat clients, found through free council planning data on approved schemes in your area.

This guide is general information. Glenigan, Barbour ABI, Find a Tender and Contracts Finder are named for comparison only; BizMentor has no commercial relationship with them. Figures are taken from each provider’s website in October 2026 and may change. Sources: glenigan.com; barbour-abi.com; GOV.UK: central digital platform (Find a Tender); GOV.UK: PPN 023 2026 thresholds.