One in every £11 spent on UK Gov contractors goes to private equity-controlled firms - Tussell x Guardian

New Guardian analysis of Tussell data reveals that one in every £11 spent with UK government contractors went to private equity-controlled companies last year.

Tussell data was used by the The Guardian to reveal that almost £24.4 billion of direct spending with UK government suppliers went to companies controlled by a private equity firm in the year to April 2025 - equivalent to 8.8% of government procurement spend that year.

This analysis featured on the front page of The Guardian on June 29th, 2026.

Tussell's data shows that:

• Local Government spent £9.8 billion directly with private equity-controlled suppliers, equivalent to 10% of their procurement spend in the year to April 2025.

• More than £5 billion of direct NHS procurement spend went to such firms, representing 10.7% of their procurement footprint.

• A major government tech supplier jointly controlled by private equity firms Hg Capital and TA Associates received almost £1 billion.

• A pharmaceutical supplier owned by Vitruvian Partners received almost £500 million.

• £600 million of the Department for Education's direct procurement spend (11% of their total spending) went to private equity-controlled firms.

This analysis reveals for the first time the extent of private equity's stake in Britain's public services.

Whenever the national media reports on UK government contracts and spending, they turn to Tussell. Access the full Guardian article here.

Got any questions about the analysis? Get in touch.

To stay up-to-date with all of Tussell's latest market analysis, subscribe to our biweekly newsletter.