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Good practice Imported

The Preston Model — Anchor-Institution Procurement Reform for Local Economic Growth

United Kingdom · Preston · See the United Kingdom profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 9% 86/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Preston City Council and local anchor institutions redirected billions in procurement spend toward local suppliers and cooperatives from 2013, lifting council local spend from 14% to 28% of budget and bringing 4,000+ jobs under the Real Living Wage, per CLES/NPC evaluations.

14% → 28% of budget
Council local spend, 2012 vs 2016 (2012-2016)
£74m → £112m+
Anchor-network spend retained in Preston (2012/13-2017/18)
~£200 million (from £248.7m)
Lancashire-wide retained spend increase
52% → 71%
Police and Crime Commissioner local spend
~4,000
Employees gaining Real Living Wage accreditation
2
New worker-owned businesses launched
£1.6 million
Council catering budget redirected to Lancashire farmers
~£1.2 billion
Combined anchor-institution annual spending power
The Preston Model — Anchor-Institution Procurement Reform for Local Economic Growth

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Preston City Council & Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES)
Period
2013-2019 (ongoing)
Keywords
local economic development, public procurement, anchor institutions, cooperatives

Context

Preston, a mid-sized English city, was among the UK's most deprived places in the early 2010s after a major shopping-centre redevelopment collapsed in 2011.

Objectives

In 2013, Preston City Council and the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) set out to test whether large local 'anchor institutions' could redirect their existing procurement spend toward local, cooperative and Living Wage suppliers, within public-procurement law.

Activities

Twelve anchors - including the council, Lancashire County Council, the University of Central Lancashire, the police, NHS bodies and local colleges - with combined annual spending power of roughly £1.2 billion mapped their supply chains and reformed procurement rules; a £1.6 million council catering budget was redirected to Lancashire farmers.

Results

Preston City Council's own local spend rose from 14% of its budget in 2012 to 28% in 2016; anchor-network spend retained in Preston rose from a £74 million baseline (2012/13) to over £112 million (2017/18), and Lancashire-wide retained spend rose by roughly £200 million; the Police and Crime Commissioner's local spend rose from 52% to 71%; about 4,000 additional employees came under Real Living Wage accreditation and two worker-owned businesses launched.

Conclusions

Independent commentators note the model mainly redistributes existing anchor spend toward local suppliers rather than creating net new regional economic activity, and results depend on anchors sustaining political commitment through changing councils; a proposed North West Community Bank billed as the next phase remained unfunded as of the most recent reporting.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Primarily staff and coordination costs to remap procurement across 12 anchor institutions holding £1.2bn in combined spend; specific reallocations like the £1.6m catering budget redirect are documented, but no aggregate programme budget is published.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Rolled out from 2013, with measured shifts in local spend share through 2016-2018; depends on anchor commitment being sustained across multiple political cycles.
Staffing & skills
Council commissioning/procurement officers, CLES technical advisers, Procurement leads across each of the 12 anchor institutions

Conditions for success

  • Sustained political commitment from anchor institutions across changing councils and administrations
  • Willingness of large local employers to map and reform their own supply chains within procurement law
  • Existence of local suppliers and cooperatives able to absorb redirected spend

Common failure modes

  • The model mainly redistributes existing anchor spend rather than creating new regional economic activity
  • Results depend on continued anchor commitment, which is vulnerable to political change
  • A proposed follow-on North West Community Bank remained unfunded as of the most recent reporting

Commonly funded by

Own resources / municipal budget

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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