FCDO's top development contractors of 2023/24

In the financial year that ended on March 31, 2024, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spent a total of £3.4 billion via contracts — 1,158 of them, according to final figures obtained from the department’s website. Of this, £553.3 million was spent on 64 development-related contracts — a 48.6% increase from last year’s £336.9 million. The rest of the money — £2.9 billion — went into nondevelopment contracts, largely administrative costs, or internal improvements such as construction and remodeling to different FCDO-related infrastructure. Almost half the total spending was on a single contract, worth £1.4 billion, given to H Young & Co (EA) Ltd. for the refurbishment of the British High Commission building in Kenya. We extracted data from the U.K. government’s contracts finder website and narrowed the search by looking only at awarded dates during FCDO’s financial year, which starts on April 1 and ends March 31 of the next year. Devex then identified development deals, based on the main purpose of the contract. FCDO’s development spending So where did FCDO spend its development money? FCDO funded a variety of sectors last year, but the most significantly funded sector was climate, taking the most of the pot with £298.4 million. This is followed by governance with £76.2 million, and economic development with £67.9 million. Location-wise, the majority of the funding went to contracts that are targeted toward multiple countries — which we tagged as worldwide — with £369.1 million. Among single-country contracts, Nigeria has the largest, with almost £58 million, followed by Sierra Leone with £21 million. Of these contracts, nine, worth £402.9 million, are subcontracted, while the rest, worth £150.4 million, are not subcontracts. The largest development contract was £220 million, awarded to Palladium International for the U.K. Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions, or UK PACT, project. A project dedicated to supporting official development assistance eligible countries in decreasing their carbon commissions. FCDO’s top development contractors 1. Palladium International Limited Contracts awarded: 3. Total Amount: £290,562,460. Palladium received the bulk of the funding with three contracts amounting to £290.6 million, including £220 million for the UK PACT program. 2. Adam Smith International Contracts awarded: 4. Total Amount: £76,696,665. Adam Smith International received four contracts totaling £76.7 million. The highest of these is a £65 million subcontract to manage the delivery arm of the Public Finance Resource Centre, which aims to improve revenue mobilization and strengthen responsible private sector and international financing. 3. Oxford Policy Management Contracts awarded: 5. Total Amount: £39,953,650. Oxford Policy Management obtained five contracts worth nearly £40 million. The largest award amounts to £15.2 million to manage the implementation of the second phase of the Low Carbon Development Initiative. 4. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Contracts awarded: 1. Total Amount: £39,500,000. PwC only received one award amounting to £39.5 million to deliver the Green Cities and Infrastructure program, which aims to improve the impact and effectiveness of FCDO programming in climate-resilient urban development infrastructure planning and delivery. 5. Mott MacDonald Ltd, trading as Cambridge Education Contracts awarded: 1. Total Amount: £19,000,000. Mott Macdonald, trading as Cambridge Education, was awarded a single contract worth £19 million to deliver technical assistance for FCDO’s Secondary Education Improvement Project Phase 2, or SSEIP II, in Sierra Leone, which aspires to deliver 12 years of quality education for all. 6. The Mines Advisory Group Contracts awarded: 1. Total Amount: £16,975,000. The Mines Advisory Group received a single, almost £17 million award for the Global Mine Action Programme 3 which will be focused on removing mine threats and explosive remnants of war and will be implemented in multiple countries: Angola, Cambodia, Ethiopia (border with Somalia only), Laos, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe. 7. The HALO Trust Contracts awarded: 2 Total amount: £11,600,000 The HALO Trust received two awards totaling £11.6 million. The highest of which is a £6.1 million award to deliver the Global Mine Action Programme 3 in Ukraine. 8. Cowater International Contracts awarded: 1. Total Amount: £10,000,000.00. Cowater International received a single award worth £10 million to conduct third-party monitoring and generate a portfolio of evidence, analysis, and learning services in Syria under FCDO’s Syria program which aims to reduce unmet, acute humanitarian health and basic needs of the most vulnerable. 9. Development Pathways Contracts awarded: 1. Total Amount: £8,000,000. Development Pathways received a single award worth £8 million to provide technical assistance services to support the financial assistance work of the government of Jordan as part of the Strengthening Societal and Economic Resilience in Jordan program. 10. Itad Ltd. Contracts Awarded: 2. Total amount: £5,217,030. Itad received two awards worth £5.2 million. The highest of which is a £4.3 million award to provide monitoring, evaluation, and learning components for FCDO’s Climate and Ocean Adaptation and Sustainable Transition program, which aims to improve the adaptive capacities, climate resilience, and prosperity of vulnerable coastal communities. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850 sources in addition to our analysis and news content.