£1 in £11 of UK public contracting goes to private equity

financeJun 28, 202620302

Guardian analysis found that almost 24.4 billion pounds of UK government contracts went to private equity-run firms in the year to April 2025, equivalent to about 1 pound in every 11 spent on public contractors. Local councils awarded almost 9.8 billion pounds to majority-controlled private equity companies, about 10% of their external spending, while NHS contracts to private equity-backed firms totaled more than 5 billion pounds, roughly 10.7% of its external spend. The contracts covered key services including transport, waste management and healthcare. Campaign voices cited by coverage include the Co-operative Party, which promoted staff-owned co-operatives as an alternative, and activists demanding stronger action against private equity’s role in public services. The analysis has sharpened calls for regulatory change and proposals to rethink ownership models in care and other outsourced services. Reporting frames the pattern as a major channel of public money to finance-sector owners rather than to publicly controlled providers.

Prem Sikka

@premnsikka.bsky.social

UK Govt gifts to finance industry. Bank frauds not investigated. Income of private equity bosses taxed as capital gains (max tax 34.1%), not as wages The Financial Services and Markets Bill weakens the role of the Financial Ombudsman, imposes time limit for filing complaints. What next?

208Yesterday

Nelly Probin7

Burnham could reverse Reeves economic vandalism, if he is minded to. If he doesn't, he'll carry the can.

The BFG2

Because as soon as any party is in power the bribes start flowing untill we rid all corruption out of parliament and start convicting corrupt MP's and Lords we do not realy live in a democracy

Robin-DeBowler1

Anything they want Prem. Eventually we will all agree that it ALL needs tearing down and recreating to support the Nation and all its citizens. Not just a select and privileged few.

Head Like A Hat1

A shame Labour are neck deep in corruption and not fighting this. www.opendemocracy.net/en/labour-ci...

Quoting this

Kevin 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇪🇺💚 #VoteGreen5

Just like the #Tories before them, #Labour continue to give money to the bankers & the wealthy, while still insisting that “there’s no money" for the rest of us. 🙄 We've GOT to stop voting for these self-serving wankers. We need to restore equality & fairness. #VoteGreen

The Scales ⚖️

@shakethescales.bsky.social

Tell us something we didn't already know... This has been the broadest of daylight robberies. Pretending it's a shocking revelation is typical of a robber baron's henchman... www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

223h ago

Quoting this

The Scales ⚖️14

'UK Private Capital, the industry body for private equity and venture capital, said such firms played a vital role in the British economy, boosting productivity, attracting international investments and supporting innovation.' This is like saying murder creates job opportunities.

Prof Bill McGuire

@profbillmcguire.bsky.social

These obscene parasites are bleeding Britain and its people dry This has to stop NOW @andyburnham.bsky.social please act www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

243h ago

Claire #FBPE ☘️ 🍉 🇺🇦 🇪🇺🐝 🦮🇮🇪🇧🇪 💙💚

@fbpech.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/society/2026... Vets bills are a disgrace! Ppl can’t affords pets-let alone🐈‍⬛ or🦮-because of the exorbitant vets prices! Multinationals/billionaires continue to ruin the U.K. (What’s left of it!) Animals are suffering because ppl who love their pets can’t afford the prices!

153h ago

Hettie O’Brien

@hettieobrien.bsky.social

£1 in every £11 spent on UK public contractors goes on private equity - a galling statistic in this excellent bit of reporting from my colleagues @michaelgoodier.bsky.social @c-aguilargarcia.bsky.social and others www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

101h ago

Hoody McExtremist

@hoodyindy.bsky.social

If anyone's wondering where all our money's going... ‘Financial pandemic’: £1 in every £11 spent on UK public contractors goes to private equity www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

52h ago

Ian Wiggett

@wiggett-ie.bsky.social

One pound in every £11 of UK government spending on contractors went to private equity-controlled companies last year, research shows, including key services such as transport, waste management and healthcare

32h ago

Ian Moody

@ianmoody.bsky.social

‘Financial pandemic’: £1 in every £11 spent on UK public contractors goes to private equity. Almost £24.4bn of government money went to private equity-run firms in year to April 2025, Guardian analysis shows. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

33h ago

Chasha

@blueskytrekker.bsky.social

And just like American HMOs, the contractors will pocket more money than people with disabilities ever got. UCP friends benefit while people with disabilities are further disadvantaged and the Alberta public pays the bills. Smith gets greedier, crueler and more emboldened every day.

3Yesterday

Nick Langley

@nicklangley.bsky.social

Almost £9.8bn in contracts from local councils went to companies majority-controlled by private equity firms, an estimated 10% of their external spending More than £5bn of NHS contracts – 10.7% of its external spending – were paid to private equity-backed firms. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

23h ago

ie-news.bsky.social

@ie-news.bsky.social

‘Financial pandemic’: £1 in every £11 spent on UK public contractors goes to private equity | Public finance https://www.europesays.com/ie/558580/ One pound in every £11 of UK government spending on contractors went to private equity-controlled companies last year,…

23h ago

Cheryl B

@lightspotter.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/society/2026... Yes, public sector contracts should be run to benefit the public that needs the service - not the wealth of investors

23h ago

Chris Rivers

@chrisrivers50.bsky.social

The Co-operative Party, aligned to Labour, says the co-operative model is part of the solution to Britain's broken social care system. Social care co-operatives are staff-owned, profit is reinvested. 80% of care home providers in the UK are private equity firms. www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

1Yesterday

Artm💫💫n

@legoutervivre111.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/society/2026... #pfi takes us all To bring Matt's Getaway trains Roberts in irie

14h ago

Tim H

@downwtsot.bsky.social

Our societies are riddled with these parasites, feeding on public money and making everything worse. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

14h ago

1 source

theguardian.com‘Financial pandemic’: £1 in every £11 spent on UK public contractors goes to private equity

£1 in £11 of UK public contracting goes to private equityfinance

£1 in £11 of UK public contracting goes to private equity

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