The UK public sector procurement process is the most expensive and one of the longest in the EU, according to new research.

A new report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) reveals that the average total cost of a competitive procurement process in the UK is £45,200, compared to an EU average of £23,900. It also costs the public body £8,000 to attract bids.

The research, which was commissioned by Gatewit, also revealed that the process in the UK was a full 53 days longer than the EU average.

Pedro Vaz Paulo, CEO of Gatewit, said: ‘There are multiple areas of concern for public sector procurement departments in the CEBR data.