The GBP 2M Turnover Myth: Why Small Firms Win CCS Framework Places Every Quarter

There is a piece of folklore in the UK SME community that goes like this. You cannot get on a Crown Commercial Service framework unless you turn over GBP 2 million a year. Some versions push the number to GBP 5 million. The effect is the same. Talented small firms decide not to bid, assume the public sector market is closed to them, and walk away from revenue they could have won.

The number is largely a myth. It is rooted in something real, but the real rule is more nuanced and far more favourable to SMEs than the folklore suggests. This piece explains what the turnover rule actually is, where the GBP 2 million number came from, how the proportionality test works in practice, and how sub million pound firms win CCS framework places every single quarter.

Where the myth comes from

Under older public procurement regulations, contracting authorities were permitted to set a minimum annual turnover requirement of up to twice the estimated contract value. In practice, some buyers set that ceiling on large frameworks and the GBP 2 million figure stuck in the market memory. Bid consultants repeated it. SMEs heard it. The number became shorthand for a blanket barrier that, for most frameworks, does not actually exist in that form.

The current rules, under the Procurement Act 2023 regime now in force across 2026, continue the proportionality principle. What they do not do is impose a GBP 2 million floor across every CCS framework. There is no such universal number.

What the proportionality test actually says

The operative principle is proportionality. A contracting authority can set a minimum annual turnover requirement only where that requirement is proportionate to the value and nature of the contracts being procured. The test is contract specific, not framework wide.

On a multi supplier framework with a wide range of call-off sizes, this usually plays out in one of two ways.

The first approach is a proportionality floor set at roughly twice the value of a typical mid range call-off for the lot. So on a lot where typical call-offs sit at GBP 100,000 to GBP 300,000, a turnover requirement of GBP 400,000 to GBP 600,000 is proportionate. On a lot with typical call-offs at GBP 500,000 to GBP 1,500,000, a requirement in the GBP 1 million to GBP 3 million range is proportionate.

The second approach, used on several recent CCS frameworks including the successors to G-Cloud and DOS and on cyber frameworks like CWAS3, is to apply the proportionality test at call-off stage rather than at framework award stage. You get onto the framework with a lower turnover threshold. You are then only eligible to bid on call-offs whose value is proportionate to your annual turnover. This approach is explicitly SME friendly and is the direction of travel across CCS.

The rule of thumb that actually applies

For most CCS frameworks in 2026, the rule of thumb is this. Your annual turnover should be at least twice the value of the largest single call-off you expect to bid for. It does not need to be twice the value of the framework ceiling. It does not need to be twice the value of the largest call-off any supplier might ever bid for. It needs to be proportionate to your own likely bidding profile.

A firm turning over GBP 600,000 a year can credibly bid for call-offs up to around GBP 300,000 and therefore qualifies for framework places that expose them to that bidding profile. A firm turning over GBP 1.2 million can credibly reach for GBP 600,000 call-offs. A firm turning over GBP 300,000 can bid for call-offs up to around GBP 150,000, which covers a meaningful slice of the short engagement, strategy, and assurance work that flows through several CCS lots.

How sub million pound firms actually win places

Every CCS framework award round includes small firms, often several dozen of them across the lots. The ones who win places tend to do five things well.

First, they bid into the right lots for their scale. They do not chase large integrator lots they cannot resource. They target lots where the typical call-off profile matches their turnover.

Second, they evidence real delivery. Three recent case studies that show outcomes, not activity. Named clients where possible, anonymised where not, with enough detail for an evaluator to believe the work happened and delivered value.

Third, they hold the foundation accreditations. ISO 27001 or at minimum Cyber Essentials Plus. Appropriate insurance at CCS levels. Modern slavery and social value statements.

Fourth, they answer the question asked. A large amount of SME bid writing wanders away from the specific evaluation criteria. Evaluators score what is in front of them. If the question is about methodology, answer methodology. If the question is about social value in a specific locality, answer that locality.

Fifth, they treat framework award as the start of the work rather than the finish line. They have named business development capacity ready to chase call-offs from day one.

What a small firm should do before bidding

Three things, in order.

Get your accreditations in place. ISO 27001 or Cyber Essentials Plus as a floor for any framework touching cyber, data, or digital. Appropriate insurance. A clean set of financial statements for the last two years.

Build an evidence library. Three case studies per lot you plan to bid. Written methodology documents. A named team with CVs or biographies. A security and data protection posture statement.

Decide which frameworks actually matter to your commercial plan. Bid two or three that align to your capability and your customer base. Do not bid eight.

Where the turnover number does bite

There are frameworks where a meaningful turnover floor genuinely applies. Very large managed service and systems integration frameworks with minimum call-off sizes in the multi million pound range will set proportionate turnover requirements in the millions. If your firm is sub GBP 1 million in turnover, those are not the frameworks for you right now. That is a proportionate design choice by the buyer, not a bias against small firms.

The frameworks SMEs should focus on are the ones designed around shorter engagements, advisory work, assurance, specialist technical services, and defined work packages. CCS has leaned into this shape of framework in recent years because government spend targets for SME suppliers sit on top of them.

How Glaxtons helps SMEs navigate this

Glaxtons works with SMEs on a success fee model tied to call-off contract wins. We help firms identify which CCS frameworks are genuinely proportionate to their turnover and capability, build the evidence base they need, position the bid, and then convert framework placement into actual revenue through call-off pursuit.

Our fee does not land at framework award. It lands at call-off win. That model only works if we are honest with SMEs about which frameworks they should bid and which they should leave alone. The worst outcome for both sides is a small firm winning a framework place they cannot convert into revenue.

Next step

If you have been told the GBP 2 million turnover rule puts CCS frameworks out of reach for your firm, book a thirty minute call. We will look at your actual numbers, your capability, and the frameworks live in 2026, and give you a clear read on which ones are proportionate to bid and which ones are not.

Book a call at bookings.glaxtons.co.uk.

Glaxtons, 3 More London Place, London SE1 2RE.