Detection and analysis apparatus: UK Tenders, Buyers & Competition
CPV 38430000·Supplies · class·in Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)
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Tenders you can still bid for.
Notices at tender stage whose deadline has not passed, counted the way the search counts them: a notice shows under every code and region it names.
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Notices published in the last 12 months.
Counted per tender, not per lot, against the 12 months before where shown.
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How many companies usually bid for a lot here.
The middle value of the bid counts that award notices publish, one per lot. Only real competitions count: direct awards and framework places are left out.
Based on 70 lots from 62 competitions run by 38 buyers, last 36 months. A buyer with many similar contests counts only up to a limit. 28 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 2) and 42 from older notices (bids received, middle 2.5).
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What a contract here is usually worth.
Middle value of published award values, VAT excluded. Framework ceilings are left out because they are not real contract values.
Based on 204 awards with a usable value, last 36 months.
Published values, not actual spend.
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How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Based on 27 decided competitions, last 36 months.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Newest open tenders
3 of 12 open for bids now · newest first
| Notice | Authority | Deadline | Days left | Published value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ID 6637252 - DfE - SRC - High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) | Southern Regional College | 18 Nov 2026 | 23d | £201,667 |
| High-Speed Spectrometer System | University of Kent | 20 Nov 2026 | 25d | £115,833 |
| Supply and Delivery of Smoke Alarms and Heat Alarms for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive | Northern Ireland Housing Executive | 9 Nov 2026 | 14d | £750,000 |
Codes and neighbouring classes
The 8-digit CPV codes notices in this class actually use, and the other classes of the same division
38433100 Mass spectrometer95 notices · 16%38433000 Spectrometers64 notices · 11%38430000 Detection and analysis apparatus63 notices · 11%38434000 Analysers52 notices · 9%38432000 Analysis apparatus31 notices · 5%38434540 Biomedical equipment31 notices · 5%38434510 Cytometers26 notices · 4%38432200 Chromatographs23 notices · 4%- Machines and apparatus for testing and measuring 54 · 12m
- Astronomical and optical instruments 53 · 12m
- Photographic equipment 51 · 12m
- Surveying, hydrographic, oceanographic and hydrological instruments and appliances 44 · 12m
- Instruments for measuring quantities 41 · 12m
- Microscopes 34 · 12m
- Instruments for measuring flow, level and pressure of liquids and gases 24 · 12m
- Meteorological instruments 19 · 12m
- Measuring instruments 19 · 12m
- Research, testing and scientific technical simulator 16 · 12m
- All of Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) →
Who buysi
Which buyers publish the most notices here.
Buyers ranked by the number of notices, duplicate names merged.
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Which buyers publish the most notices here.
Buyers ranked by the number of notices, duplicate names merged.
All notices carrying this code · official UK_CA_TYPE where published (NHS bodies are central government authorities), else derived from the authority name
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What kinds of public bodies buy here.
Notices by the buyer’s type as published, otherwise by its name.
Central government44%(249 notices)
249 of 571 notices are Central government (44%).Education & universities30%(170 notices)
170 of 571 notices are Education & universities (30%).Other public bodies13%(76 notices)
76 of 571 notices are Other public bodies (13%).Local authorities3%(19 notices)
19 of 571 notices are Local authorities (3%).Police, fire & emergency1%(8 notices)
8 of 571 notices are Police, fire & emergency (1%).Not classified9%(49 notices)
49 of 571 notices are Not classified (9%).
| Contracting authority | Type | Notices | Last 12 months | Open now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Research and Innovation | Central government | 74 | 31 | 0 |
| Ministry of Defence | Central government | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| Secretary of State for Health and Social Care acting as part of the Crown through UK Health Security Agency | Central government | 17 | 5 | 0 |
| University of Exeter | Central government | 15 | 5 | 0 |
| University of Leeds | Education & universities | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Central government | 13 | 11 | 0 |
| NHS Blood and Transplant | Central government | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| ENVIRONMENT AGENCY | Other public bodies | 10 | 4 | 1 |
| Cefas | not classified | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| Queen's University Belfast | Education & universities | 10 | 2 | 0 |
170 distinct authorities in total · the ten most active shown.
Where the work is deliveredi
Where the work on these notices is delivered.
Delivery regions published on the notices. A notice with several regions counts in each.
Where the work is, not where the buyer is based.
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Where the work on these notices is delivered.
Delivery regions published on the notices. A notice with several regions counts in each.
Where the work is, not where the buyer is based.
Delivery regions (ITL1) published on 385 of 578 notices · a notice covering several regions counts in each · competition columns: contracts awarded in the last 36 months, lots delivered in the region
| Region | Notices | Bids / lot | SME wins | Local wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 1 | 53% | 11% | |
| South West England | 2 | 65% | 5% | |
| South East England | 2 | 50% | 19% | |
| East of England | — | 32% | 30% | |
| North West England | 2 | 50% | 13% | |
| Wales (Cymru) | 3 | — | 8% | |
| Scotland | — | — | — | |
| West Midlands | — | 50% | 21% | |
| North East England | — | 33% | 6% | |
| Northern Ireland | 2 | 33% | — | |
| Greater London | — | 71% | 6% | |
| East Midlands | — | 45% | 13% |
Local wins = the winner’s registered region is the delivery region. Dashes: fewer than ten observations.
How it is boughti
How work here is packaged.
Notices by commercial tool: a single contract, a framework, or a dynamic purchasing system.
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How work here is packaged.
Notices by commercial tool: a single contract, a framework, or a dynamic purchasing system.
Commercial tool, procedure route and threshold as published on the notice, not a legal-regime claim
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How work here is packaged.
Notices by commercial tool: a single contract, a framework, or a dynamic purchasing system.
Contract95%(548 notices)
548 of 578 notices are Contract (95%).Framework5%(30 notices)
30 of 578 notices are Framework (5%).
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Which procedures buyers here use.
Notices by the procedure they declare: open, selective, limited or direct. Open and selective are competitions; limited and direct are not.
Open41%(235 notices)
235 of 578 notices are Open (41%).Limited / restricted23%(131 notices)
131 of 578 notices are Limited / restricted (23%).Direct award19%(110 notices)
110 of 578 notices are Direct award (19%).Route not published13%(73 notices)
73 of 578 notices are Route not published (13%).Selective5%(29 notices)
29 of 578 notices are Selective (5%).
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How much of this market is above the legal threshold.
Notices by whether the buyer marked them above or below the threshold that triggers the full rules.
Above threshold61%(54 notices)
54 of 89 notices are Above threshold (61%).Below threshold39%(35 notices)
35 of 89 notices are Below threshold (39%).
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How long bidders get to respond.
Middle value in days from the tender notice to its deadline.
Competition
Contracts published in the last 36 months (315) · bid counts per lot from award notices · values are net contract awards, framework and DPS ceilings excluded · SME and local status as declared
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How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid31%(22)
22 of 70 lots fall in 1 bid (31%).2–346%(32)
32 of 70 lots fall in 2–3 (46%).4–620%(14)
14 of 70 lots fall in 4–6 (20%).7 or more3%(2)
2 of 70 lots fall in 7 or more (3%).
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The usual range of contract values here.
The middle half of published award values, VAT excluded, with the middle value marked. Framework ceilings are left out.
Published values, not actual spend.
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How many companies usually bid for a lot here.
The middle value of the bid counts that award notices publish, one per lot. Only real competitions count: direct awards and framework places are left out.
Based on 70 lots from 62 competitions run by 38 buyers, last 36 months. A buyer with many similar contests counts only up to a limit. 28 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 2) and 42 from older notices (bids received, middle 2.5).
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How much of this market is actually put out to competition.
Notices run as an open or selective procedure, out of all notices that say which procedure was used. Direct awards count as not competed.
126 of 294 notices that state a procedure, last 36 months. 21 more give no procedure and are left out.
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What share of bids come from small and medium firms.
SME bids divided by all bids, on lots where the buyer published the split.
76 SME bids out of 162, on 62 lots where the buyer published the split.
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What share of contracts go to small and medium firms.
Awards to a single supplier that declared its size. SME divided by all.
64 of 132 awards where the winner declared its size.
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How much work here goes to companies based in the region.
Contract awards where the winner’s registered address is in this region, out of awards where the address is known.
Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.
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Do winners come in above or below the buyer’s estimate.
For each lot we compare the published estimate with the award, like for like. Below means the winner was paid less than estimated, above means more.
Based on 38 lots with both an estimate and an award, last 36 months.
A past pattern, not a price to bid.
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How often a tender ends with no award.
Notices cancelled, withdrawn or marked unsuccessful, plus terminated ones that never got an award.
7 of 315 notices, last 36 months.
Only what buyers published. Tenders that quietly went nowhere are not counted.
Who winsi
Which suppliers win the most here.
Suppliers ranked by the number of tenders won, not by money. A supplier on one big framework with many call-offs does not outrank one that won many separate competitions.
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Which suppliers win the most here.
Suppliers ranked by the number of tenders won, not by money. A supplier on one big framework with many call-offs does not outrank one that won many separate competitions.
Ranked by distinct procedures won on notices carrying this code, then award records · 445 awards to 252 suppliers · the five most frequent winners hold 14% of contract awards in the last 36 months
| Supplier | Procedures | Awards | Last 12 months | Buyers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRUKER UK LIMITED | 18 | 18 | 5 | 15 |
| Agilent Technologies LDA UK Ltd | 16 | 18 | 8 | 15 |
| Thermo Electron Manufacturing Ltd t/a Thermo Fisher Scientific | 14 | 16 | 4 | 12 |
| Waters Ltd | 12 | 13 | 4 | 9 |
| AB Sciex UK Limited | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| Enviro Technology Services Ltd | 6 | 6 | 3 | 5 |
| Thermo Fisher Scientific | 6 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Rohde and Schwarz UK Ltd | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
Where to submiti
Where bids for this work are submitted.
Notices by the portal in their submission link, where one is published.
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Where bids for this work are submitted.
Notices by the portal in their submission link, where one is published.
E-sourcing portals named in the submission address · 197 of 578 notices name one · each portal page explains registration
Open tenders in detection and analysis apparatus
12 open for bids now · soonest deadline first
| Notice | Authority | Deadline | Days left | Published value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WBS-FTS-64245 Haematology Testing System | NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership-Procurement Services (hosted by Velindre University NHS Trust) | 4 Nov 2026 | 9d | £409,497 |
| Supply of Advanced Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry Platform | Aberystwyth University | 9 Nov 2026 | 14d | £156,717 |
| Supply of Advanced Chromatography and Molecular Characterisation Platform | Aberystwyth University | 9 Nov 2026 | 14d | £198,568 |
| Supply and Delivery of Smoke Alarms and Heat Alarms for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive | Northern Ireland Housing Executive | 9 Nov 2026 | 14d | £750,000 |
| Supply of Colorimetric Analysers to the Environment Agency | ENVIRONMENT AGENCY | 11 Nov 2026 | 16d | £480,000 |
| ID 6637252 - DfE - SRC - High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) | Southern Regional College | 18 Nov 2026 | 23d | £201,667 |
| High-Speed Spectrometer System | University of Kent | 20 Nov 2026 | 25d | £115,833 |
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- What counts here. Every notice with a CPV code starting 3843. A notice with several codes counts in each sector it names. Notices from 2021 to 23 Oct 2026.
- Competition. Bids and winners cover the last three years and count each lot as its own contest; frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems are shown apart from ordinary contracts.
- Why no total spend. Notice estimates often repeat a framework’s ceiling, so adding them up would overstate the market. Typical contract values are shown instead.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.