Nearly one in five Belgian contracts draws just one bid
Almost a fifth of Belgian public-procurement awards — 19.4% of the 11,066 awards that reported a bid count on TED (EU Tenders Electronic Daily) — received exactly one offer. That baseline figure alone warrants attention. But the sectoral breakdown reveals concentrations that are far more striking, and that carry direct implications for buyers trying to demonstrate value for money and for suppliers wondering whether a market is worth entering.
The standout finding: precision equipment is barely contested
In CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) division 38 — laboratory, optical, and precision equipment — 45.9% of awards with a reported bid count went to a sole bidder. That figure rests on 246 awards, with bid-count data available for 97.6% of all awards in the division, making it one of the more reliable readings in the dataset. The average number of bids across the division was just 2.12, meaning that even the contested awards attracted barely more than two offers on average.
Supporting and auxiliary transport services (CPV 63) came close, at 44.2% single-bid awards across 43 reported contracts — a smaller sample, though with 100% bid-count coverage. Postal and telecommunications services (CPV 64) followed at 39.4% across 71 awards.
A cluster of sectors above one-third
Eight CPV divisions recorded single-bid rates above 30%:
| Sector | Single-bid rate | Awards reported |
|---|---|---|
| Laboratory, optical & precision equipment (38) | 45.9% | 246 |
| Supporting & auxiliary transport services (63) | 44.2% | 43 |
| Postal & telecommunications services (64) | 39.4% | 71 |
| Health & social work services (85) | 38.5% | 104 |
| Installation services (51) | 38.5% | 39 |
| Administration, defence & social security services (75) | 37.5% | 40 |
| Research & development services (73) | 34.5% | 417 |
| Repair & maintenance services (50) | 33.8% | 373 |
Research and development services (CPV 73) is notable for a different reason: its single-bid rate of 34.5% coexists with an average bid count of 5.53 — the highest average among the high-single-bid sectors. That combination suggests a bimodal market: some R&D tenders attract a field of competitors, while a substantial minority draw no competition at all.
Where competition is healthiest
The contrast with the least-contested sectors is sharp. Business services — law, marketing, consulting, and recruitment (CPV 79) — recorded a single-bid rate of just 9.7% across 1,334 awards, with an average of 7.83 bids per contract. IT services (CPV 72) showed 14.0% single-bid awards across 1,186 contracts, averaging 8.48 bids — the highest average in the dataset. Architectural, engineering, and inspection services (CPV 71) registered 9.1% across 776 awards, averaging 7.18 bids.
Construction work (CPV 45) achieved a single-bid rate of 10.7% across 858 awards, though its bid-count coverage was 89.8% — the lowest among the sectors listed — so that figure should be read with slightly more caution.
What the numbers do and do not show
A single bid is not, by itself, evidence of a procedural failure or collusion. Highly specialised equipment, incumbent-specific maintenance contracts, and thinly populated supplier markets can all produce single-bid outcomes for legitimate reasons. What the data does show is where buyers face the weakest competitive pressure when setting contract terms, and where challengers might find the fewest rivals if they choose to bid.
For contracting authorities (the public bodies that issue tenders), sectors with persistently high single-bid rates are candidates for market-engagement exercises before a tender is launched, broader lot structures, or a review of technical specifications that may inadvertently narrow the field.
Methodology note
Data are drawn from TED (EU Tenders Electronic Daily) for Belgian contracting authorities. The overall sample covers 11,066 awards that reported a bid count; sectors with fewer than 15 such awards are excluded. Bid-count coverage — the share of all awards in a division for which a bid count was disclosed — varies by sector and is reported above. Where coverage is below 95%, figures should be treated as indicative. The time range covered by the underlying TED export is not specified in the source data. All percentages refer to awards with a reported bid count, not to total contract value.