North East Procurement Organisation

What North East Procurement Organisation does

North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) is a not-for-profit public sector procurement organisation operating as The Association of North East Councils Limited, a private company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in the Northern Design Centre, Gateshead's Baltic Business Quarter, NEPO is owned by twelve North East local authorities and is led by Managing Director Nicola Shelley with a 35-strong team. Its core function is to strategically procure high-value goods and services on behalf of its member authorities and the broader UK public sector, with members channelling approximately £750 million annually through NEPO's framework agreements.

NEPO's technology stack centres on three platforms: Open, an e-procurement portal at open-uk.org used by all twelve North East local authorities for tendering, supplier registration, and contract management; NEPRO3 (and the related NEPRO Financial Resilience and NEPRO Innovation solutions) for specialist professional services procurement; and category-specific frameworks spanning energy (electricity, gas, water retail, liquid fuels), construction, ICT (delivered with YPO), fleet, professional services, social care, food, and financial services. The Energy Team is notable as the first public sector organisation to buy electricity and gas via fully flexible wholesale commodity market agreements. In February 2026, NEPO extended UK-wide reach through NEPRO Innovation, a £20 billion neutral vendor platform developed with Constellia.

NEPO's revenue mechanics rely on membership contributions and supplier engagement rather than direct margin on the £750m framework spend. Associate Membership is free for public sector bodies, while framework pricing is established through competitive tendering. Distribution occurs via direct framework agreements, the Open portal, and reciprocal partnerships with other buying organisations including ESPO, YPO, Constellia, Nomia, Oxygen Finance, and Comensura. Key suppliers include EDF Energy, Corona Energy, Wave Utilities, Your NRG, Stark Connect, Capita, and Bloom. The organisation maintains active thought leadership through industry events, Pipeline of Opportunities reports, supplier training via the NEPO Supplier Partnership Programme, and the Regional Procurement Apprenticeship Programme launched September 2024.

Name

North East Procurement Organisation

Legal name

The Association of North East Councils Limited

Website

https://nepo.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) is a not-for-profit public sector procurement organisation owned by twelve North East English local authorities, managing approximately £750 million annually through framework agreements and digital platforms spanning energy, construction, ICT, financial services, and specialist professional services across the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Sector Procurement Services

NAICS

Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers (4251), Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers (42512)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221)

akta.pro primary industry

Compliance, Risk & Supplier Due Diligence (KYC/ESG/Sanctions) (BPAAAJAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Supply Chain Sustainability & Responsible Sourcing (SMETA, supplier ESG) (EUAHAJAE)

Keywords

• Public sector procurement
• Framework agreement management
• E-procurement platform
• Collaborative purchasing
• Social value procurement

Headquarters

HQ city

Gateshead

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Framework Agreement Management: NEPO generates value for its public sector members by negotiating and managing framework agreements for high-value goods and services. Members spend approximately £750 million annually through NEPO's framework agreements. NEPO operates as a not-for-profit membership organisation owned by North East local authorities, with its costs covered through membership contributions and supplier engagement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

NEPO negotiates and manages framework agreements for high-value goods and services on behalf of twelve North East local authorities and the wider UK public sector, channelling approximately £750 million of annual member spend. It operates the Open e-procurement platform for digital tender management, the NEPRO Innovation neutral vendor platform for specialist professional services, and category-specific frameworks spanning energy, construction, ICT, fleet, professional services, social care, and food.

Product overview

NEPO operates as a public sector procurement organisation serving North East local authorities and the wider UK public sector. The company offers a portfolio of procurement solutions structured as framework agreements and managed service approaches. Core products include the Open e-procurement platform for digital tender management, NEPRO Innovation (a £20bn neutral vendor solution in partnership with Constellia), NEPRO3 and NEPRO Financial Resilience for specialist professional services. The portfolio spans multiple categories: Energy solutions including Electricity, Gas, Meter Operator Services, Water Retail, and Liquid Fuels frameworks; Construction frameworks for works, civil engineering, demolition, highways, and retrofit/decarbonisation; ICT solutions in partnership with YPO covering cloud, network, and managed services; Financial Services including Early Payment Service (with Oxygen Finance) and Tail Spend Management Services (with Nomia); Fleet and Building Materials; Professional Services including agency staffing, executive recruitment, and travel management; and Social Care services. NEPO also provides free supplier support through the Supplier Partnership Programme and runs a Regional Procurement Apprenticeship Programme. The organisation manages approximately £750m annually through its framework agreements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NEPRO: Specialist professional services procurement framework solution
• NEPRO3
• NEPRO Innovation
• Open

Products and services

• Open E-Procurement Platform NEPO's digital e-procurement platform used by NEPO and the twelve North East local authorities. It is the primary platform for tender opportunities, contracts register, supplier registration, and managing procurement processes. Registration is free for suppliers and it serves as the sole platform for doing business with NEPO and its member authorities.
• NEPRO Innovation A £20bn neutral vendor public sector procurement solution delivered in partnership with Constellia. Provides a compliant, flexible route to market for goods, services, works, and technology across categories including IT infrastructure, consultancy, and construction. Widens SME participation through access to Constellia's marketplace of over 4,000 suppliers.
• NEPRO3 NEPO's solution for specialist professional services and consultancy. Delivers a managed service approach providing a faster and compliant alternative to traditional public sector frameworks, used by the public sector across the UK.
• NEPRO Financial Resilience A solution for financial resilience and related professional services within the NEPRO family of specialist professional services frameworks.
• NEPO301 Electricity Framework Provides access to electricity supply contracts and associated services for non-domestic sites including Half Hourly, non-Half Hourly and Unmetered Supply markets. NEPO was the first public sector organisation to buy electricity using fully flexible agreements from the wholesale commodity market. EDF Energy is the appointed supplier.
• NEPO302 Gas Framework Provides compliant gas supply contracts and associated services supporting individual sites and full organisational estates. Offers fully flexible purchasing and fixed-price contract options. Corona Energy is the appointed supplier.
• NEPO303 Meter Operator Services Covers the supply, registration and maintenance of meters, as well as associated communications requirements. Delivered by sole-supplier Stark Connect and accredited by the Meter Operator's Code of Practice Agreement (MOCOPA).
• NEPO311 Water Retail Services A sole-supplier framework agreement for the provision of water, wastewater and ancillary services delivered by Wave Utilities. Includes water efficiency measures, bespoke consumption monitoring, and automated meter readings with a 40% water consumption reduction demonstrated.
• NEPO307 Liquid Fuels Covers the provision of diesel, gasoil, kerosene, hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), petrol and AdBlue. Available for any public sector organisation in the UK with suppliers BWOC, Certas Energy and YourNRG. HVO trials have demonstrated up to 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions versus conventional diesel.
• NEPO521 Early Payment Service Helps UK public sector organisations achieve efficiencies while supporting suppliers. Delivered in partnership with Oxygen Finance, it enables Supplier Incentive Programmes including early invoice payment and accelerated query resolution, improving supplier cashflow.
• Tail Spend Management Services Addresses low-value, high-volume expenditure challenges faced by public sector organisations. Delivered in partnership with Nomia, supporting 12 member authorities with potential savings of 5-15% through consolidated purchasing and automated processes.
• Construction Frameworks NEPO's Construction Category includes multiple frameworks: Construction Works, Civil Engineering & Infrastructure Works, Demolition & Asbestos Surveying, Asbestos Removal Works, Highways Infrastructure Surveys, Highways Surfacing, Retrofit and Decarbonisation Works, Support Services for Built Environment, and Traffic Management Services. An £800m Construction Framework was launched in 2022.
• ICT Solutions NEPO's ICT Category delivered in partnership with YPO includes frameworks for Cloud Services, Data Centre Management & Transformation, Electronic Catering Management, ICT Managed Service (via Capita), Network Connectivity and Telecommunications, Software Application Solutions, Sustainable Hardware Asset Recycling & Data Destruction, and Tech Enabled Care/Lone Working Solutions.
• Financial and Insurance Services NEPO's Financial and Insurance Services include Early Payment Service, Financial Innovation and Digital Payments, General Banking Services, Insurance Brokerage, Insurance Placement DPS, Payment Card Services, Payments/Appointeeships/Disbursements, and Tail Spend Management Services. NEPO505 Payment Card Services covers prepaid payments and corporate procurement cards.
• Fleet and Building Materials NEPO's Fleet and Building Materials category includes frameworks for vehicle acquisition and conversion, aggregates and concrete, building materials managed stores, buses and coach purchase, car and LCV purchase, EV charging infrastructure, hydrogen generation, grounds maintenance equipment, and vehicle rental.
• NEPO Supplier Partnership Programme (NSPP) Free support programme helping local and regional suppliers take the first step into working with the public sector. The programme helps suppliers find and win opportunities to supply goods and services to the public sector.

Quantifiable outcome

• £750m spent annually by members through NEPO's framework agreements
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ConstelliacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026NEPO partnered with London-based Constellia to deliver NEPRO Innovation, a £20bn public sector procurement platform. The neutral vendor solution provides public sector organisations with a compliant, flexible route to market for goods, services, works, and technology across categories including IT infrastructure, consultancy, and construction. The platform extends availability to public sector bodies across the UK and creates more than 30 jobs at a new Newcastle office.
• SRSCCminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2026NEPO expanded its Regional Procurement Apprenticeship Programme in partnership with training experts SRSCC. The programme cultivates the next generation of procurement leaders across the North East, with the second year of implementation reviewed in February 2026.
• NomiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2025NEPO partnered with Nomia (a tail spend management platform) to launch the Tail Spend Management Services Framework supporting 12 member authorities. Industry benchmarks indicate potential savings of 5–15% through consolidated purchasing and automated processes. Nick Petheram, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Nomia, argued that councils must improve management of tail spend representing roughly 20% of total spending but 80% of transactional effort.
• New College Durham and The Wind AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2024NEPO's External Training framework partnered with New College Durham and The Wind Academy to deliver specialist offshore wind turbine training, accelerating the development of the North East as a UK Offshore Wind Hub.
• Dynamo North EastminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2023NEPO collaborated with Dynamo North East C.I.C. (a not-for-profit tech sector membership organisation) to bolster the North East tech sector and showcase public sector procurement insights. The collaboration aimed to strengthen the region's tech ecosystem.
• Open E-Procurement Platform (12 Local Authorities)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2022NEPO and the twelve North East local authorities launched Open, a new e-procurement platform that transforms how businesses find and bid for competitive opportunities. By October 2024, all 11 remaining North East local authorities joined Sunderland City Council on the platform. Open is the only place to do business with NEPO and the twelve North East local authorities.
• Bloom Procurement ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 August 2022NEPO and Bloom celebrated ten years of partnership providing the public sector with specialist professional services through the NEPRO Framework. NEPO and Bloom also jointly championed the role of small businesses in public procurement at a Houses of Parliament event in December 2022.
• ESPO and YPOcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 21 February 2022NEPO, ESPO, and YPO launched a collaborative partnership to meet the UK public sector's financial service requirements. The partnership allows members of ESPO and YPO to access NEPO505 Payment Card Services, covering prepaid payments (prepaid card accounts) and corporate payments (commercial procurement card accounts). Additional procurement solutions including a Dynamic Purchasing System for Financial Innovation and Digital Payments and a General Banking Services solution were planned.
• Oxygen FinancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 February 2022NEPO partnered with Oxygen Finance as the sole supplier of NEPO521 Early Payment Service, helping UK public sector organisations achieve efficiencies while supporting suppliers. Five member authorities (Gateshead Council, Middlesbrough Council, Northumberland County Council, South Tyneside, and Newcastle) launched Supplier Incentive Programmes with Oxygen Finance, enabling earlier invoice payments, accelerated query resolution, and improved supplier cashflow.
• YPOcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 6 January 2022NEPO established a partnership with YPO to offer its members access to a wide range of ICT procurement solutions including hardware and software, data centres, maintenance, security and cloud hosting services, networking and telecommunications, ICT managed service, and electronic kitchen management. SMEs account for 68% of suppliers across YPO's ICT frameworks. Additional solutions including website design, software applications, and AI automation were planned for 2022.
• Your NRGcoreTechnology or IntegrationYour NRG (formerly Oil NRG), based in Hartlepool with depots across the UK, is the sole supplier to NEPO307 Liquid Fuels covering diesel, gasoil, kerosene, petrol, AdBlue, and Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). Your NRG conducted HVO fuel trials at Northumberland County Council and Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, demonstrating 75 times less CO2 per litre versus diesel.
• Wave UtilitiescoreTechnology or IntegrationWave is the sole supplier to NEPO311 Water Retail Services providing water and sewerage services to eligible non-household customers. Formed from Anglian Water Business and Northumbrian Water Group, Wave supports over 300,000 customers across the UK. Wave has delivered automated water meter readings, 40% water consumption reduction, and annual social value events. Wave has been awarded Water Retailer of the Year twice (2021 and 2023).
• EDF EnergycoreTechnology or IntegrationEDF Energy is the appointed supplier for the NEPO Electricity Framework (NEPO301), providing electricity supply to non-domestic sites across Half Hourly, non-Half Hourly, and Unmetered Supply markets. EDF Energy and NEPO's Energy Team work together to provide account management, AMR installation, demand side services, and online management systems.
• Corona EnergycoreTechnology or IntegrationCorona Energy is the appointed supplier for the NEPO Gas Framework (NEPO302), providing gas supply contracts and associated services to public sector organisations. Corona Energy provides dedicated account management, flexible and fixed purchasing options, AMR installation, and support for net zero including renewable gas options.
• ComensuraminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNEPO announced Comensura as the all-new provider for agency recruitment, delivering compliant, cost-effective, and high-quality agency staffing services to the public sector through the NEPO-Comensura Framework launched May 2025.
• Feeding FamiliesminorOthersNEPO colleagues volunteered with North East charity Feeding Families, packing food parcels for local families in need during Christmas 2025. This reflects NEPO's social value commitment and community engagement activities.
• Northumberland College ZoominorOthersNEPO and EDF Energy participated in a volunteering day at Northumberland College Zoo, undertaking hands-on activities supporting animal care and biodiversity. This was part of NEPO's ongoing social value and volunteering programme.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ESPO (Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation): ESPO is one of the UK's largest public sector buying organisations, providing framework agreements and procurement services to local authorities and the wider public sector. Directly comparable to NEPO in mission, ownership structure, and category coverage; NEPO even partners with ESPO on financial services solutions.
• Bloom Procurement Services: Bloom is NEPO's long-standing specialist professional services partner under the NEPRO framework, providing managed-service public sector procurement for consultancy and professional services. It is a direct comparable in the niche of professional services framework delivery to UK public bodies.
• Procurement for Housing (PfH): PfH is a membership-based procurement organisation serving the housing sector with framework agreements. Comparable to NEPO in structure and model but focused specifically on housing associations and registered providers rather than general local authority services.
• YPO (Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation): YPO is a public sector buying organisation owned by local authorities, providing framework agreements across hundreds of categories. NEPO has an active partnership with YPO for ICT procurement, and the two organisations operate highly comparable membership-based procurement models serving UK councils.

Others

• Constellia: Constellia is NEPO's strategic partner powering the NEPRO Innovation platform with its 4,000+ supplier marketplace. It is an adjacent enabling partner rather than a direct competitor, providing the neutral-vendor technology infrastructure that underpins NEPO's national scale platform.

Emerging players

• Pagabo: Pagabo is a UK framework provider offering neutral-vendor procurement solutions to public sector clients, with a technology-led approach. It is comparable to NEPO's NEPRO Innovation offering as a more commercially oriented, tech-forward framework aggregator targeting the same public sector buyers.

Regional players

• Scotland Excel: Scotland Excel is the centre of procurement expertise for Scottish local authorities, operating as a membership-based procurement organisation analogous to NEPO but serving the devolved Scottish public sector rather than English councils.
• Wales Procurement Alliance (WPA): WPA is a procurement consortium serving Welsh public sector bodies with collaborative framework agreements. It is a structurally comparable peer to NEPO operating in a different UK home nation with similar membership-based governance.

Broad incumbents

• Crown Commercial Service (CCS): CCS is the UK government's central purchasing body, managing cross-government framework agreements used by the entire public sector. It is a much larger incumbent in the same procurement category with overlapping buyer audiences but broader national scope and direct ministerial backing.
• NHS Shared Business Services: SBS is a joint venture between the Department of Health and Social Care and Sopra Steria providing procurement, payroll, and finance services to the NHS. Comparable to NEPO as a public-sector-focused procurement services organisation, but operating at significantly larger scale within the health vertical.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nepo-north-east-procurement-organisation-
• Instagraminstagram.com/wearenepo
• Xx.com/NEPOprocurement

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about North East Procurement Organisation