Bidgen vs Thornton & Lowe for bid support
Bidgen is a premium-quality, human-led alternative to a traditional bid-writing agency. We work as an extension of your team, and the service is built for small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs) that want tendering to become a regular source of new work. In the agency quotes and buying conversations we see, traditional agencies charge £4,500 to £20,000 for a single tender, with complex, high-value tenders at the top of that range. You get one bid owner, and more writers and reviewers when deadlines overlap, at a significantly more cost-effective rate. Both Bidgen and Thornton & Lowe offer human bid support, including ongoing relationships. Thornton & Lowe describes a fully outsourced bid team, with bid management and wider services such as training and recruitment. Bidgen provides an outsourced bid team for growing companies, with a named bid owner and capacity agreed around the workload. Compare the people and scope proposed for your business: the useful questions are how they will run your pipeline, gather information and handle overlapping deadlines.
Before you choose
Who this helps
- Suppliers comparing two providers of ongoing, outsourced bid support.
- Businesses that need to understand who will manage several tenders at once.
- Teams seeking a written scope that separates delivery, training and recruitment.
Points to check
- Choosing on a headline fee without checking the work included.
- Assuming one provider only writes individual responses.
- Expecting an external team to decide your prices or validate unsupported claims.
There is real overlap in the service models
Thornton & Lowe says its in-house bid team supports clients through ongoing partnerships as well as individual tenders. Its offer includes writing, bid management, portal management and review, alongside training, recruitment and software. Those services mean it should be assessed as more than a source of draft answers.
Our service also centres on people who learn your business and run your bids, so a broad service description will do little to separate the two. Ask each provider to describe the first month with your actual pipeline, including what they need from you and which tasks have a named owner.
Check what continuity means in practice
A returning writer can remember why you chose a delivery method, which case study needs permission and who can approve staffing commitments. That knowledge is useful only if it survives absence and changes in workload.
Ask to meet the proposed lead and find out who covers when they are away. Establish where approved information will be stored, who updates it and what you receive if the relationship ends. At Bidgen, the ongoing service keeps the same bid owner with you from bid to bid. The agreed plan should still spell out who does what and when they are available.
Use a busy fortnight to test capacity
Suppose a facilities company has two council tenders closing in the same week and a framework clarification due between them. One response needs an operations interview; the other needs a revised mobilisation programme.
Give both providers those dates. Ask when interviews, drafts and reviews would happen, and what changes if a buyer issues an amendment. The answers will show whether they have enough people for your workload. A promise to handle bids end to end is less useful than a schedule your directors can commit to.
Separate review from proofreading
A clean document can still fail to answer the question. Ask who checks that each commitment matches the specification, that the answer addresses the scoring criteria and that assumptions are consistent with the price.
For example, a response promising a dedicated supervisor needs to agree with the staffing model. Confirm whether the reviewer is separate from the writer, how unresolved issues are escalated and how much time is allowed for your approval before submission.
Request the same scope from both providers
Compare prices against the work included in each proposal. Send the same tender pack and workload assumptions to both, then compare the written proposals.
- Check which interviews, response plans, drafting rounds and reviews are included.
- Confirm responsibility for attachments, portal entry and the final submission action.
- Ask how additional tenders, extensions and late amendments affect the fee.
- Make sure the handover covers reviewing buyer feedback and returning your approved material.
Choose a team you can work with bid after bid
For an ongoing appointment, discuss a completed tender and a realistic next opportunity. Look for questions about delivery, margin and management time as well as the writing. Agree how unsuitable opportunities will be declined and how a crowded pipeline will be prioritised.
The better fit is the team whose way of working your business can sustain. You keep responsibility for factual accuracy, commercial decisions and final sign-off; a good bid partner gives you what you need to make those decisions well and on time.
Premium quality at a cost that suits smaller businesses
Based on the agency quotes and buying conversations we see, Bidgen is significantly more cost-effective than a traditional agency for small and mid-sized businesses. We agree the scope and fee with you before work starts. To compare fairly, ask each provider for a written proposal covering the same interviews, writing, review and submission work.
Common questions
01Does Thornton & Lowe offer ongoing support?
Yes. Its bid-writing service includes ongoing partnerships and an outsourced bid-team model, alongside support for individual tenders.
02Is Bidgen more cost-effective than a traditional bid-writing agency?
Yes. In the agency quotes and buying conversations we see, traditional agencies charge £4,500 to £20,000 for a single tender, with complex, high-value tenders at the upper end. Bidgen gives small and mid-sized businesses premium-quality support at a significantly more cost-effective rate, and we agree the scope and fee before work starts.
03Can we start with one tender?
Yes. Bidgen can help with a single live tender. Use it to judge how we communicate, what we ask and how we review, then agree separately what ongoing support would include.
04Who submits the final response?
Set this out in the engagement scope, including portal access, upload checks and the person authorised to press submit. Your business should approve the final response and commercial offer first.