Information for Suppliers

LSE is the world's leading social science institution for teaching and research. Each year we spend on average around £80m on goods and services - the bulk on building and upgrading the campus around Houghton Street, but also on the many halls of residence around London. 

LSE terms and conditions

Please find below LSE's standard terms and conditions for Goods and Services.

Standard terms and conditions for Goods

Standard terms and conditions for Services

The School has specific terms and conditions for Consultancy and IT purchases, which can be requested from procurement@lse.ac.uk.

LSE business details including company registration number

Company registration number:

00070527

Principal place of business:

London School of Economics and Political Science

Houghton Street

London, WC2A 2AE.

Tendering Portal

Our tenders are managed through our Online Tendering Portal.

For guidance on how to register as a bidder or log in, see: LSE Tendering Portal to access Mercell (EU Supply) UK CTM Portal.

Thresholds for obtaining competitive quotations/tenders

LSE strictly follows the competition thresholds (excl. VAT) set out in its Financial Regulations. The level of competition required is based on the contract value (contract life, not annual cost). The thresholds are set as follows:

  • Contracts estimated to cost from £8,000 to £49,999 - at least 3 written quotes.
  • Contracts over £50,000 - at least 4 tenders via a sealed bid tendering process.

LSE payment terms

LSE’s standard payment terms are net monthly, i.e. LSE shall pay the invoiced amounts no later than the end of the calendar month following the calendar month in which delivery was made and receipt of a correct invoice submitted by the supplier, whichever shall happen last.

For more information, please see our Guide to selling to LSE

Equity, diversity and inclusion 

All suppliers to LSE must comply with LSE's commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion: 

“The School seeks to ensure that people are treated equitably, regardless of age, disability, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, religion and belief, sex, sexual orientation or personal circumstances. Equality and diversity are integral to the School's priorities and objectives. We will support inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue and understanding and engage all students and staff in playing a full and active role in wider engagement with society.” 

For more information, see Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

LSE Ethics Code

LSE suppliers shall, and shall ensure that their personnel, comply with the LSE Ethics Code. The code states that the whole LSE community are expected to act in accordance with the following principles: 

  • responsibility and accountability
  • integrity
  • intellectual freedom
  • equality of respect and opportunity
  • collegiality and sustainability

For the full code, see LSE Ethics Code

LSE environmental considerations

Since 2005, LSE has been committed to environmental sustainability as set out by the School's Environmental and Energy Policies. All LSE’s contractors must adhere to all tenets of the policy:

See:
LSE Procurement sustainability policy

Sustainability at LSE

LSE Supplier Code of Practice

London Living Wage

No business should gain an unfair advantage in a tender process by paying its employees less than a Living Wage. LSE is an accredited Living Wage employer and requires all employees/workers providing goods and services to its UK premises to be paid the UK London Living Wage rate which is an additional amount to the UK minimum pay rate (What is it? | Living Wage Foundation). Where practicable, the wages of workers are delinked from the contract price in our contracts to ensure transparency over the impacts of the UK living wage annual increments. Achieving a living wage further down the supply chain is the responsibility of all supply chain decision makers including LSE. LSE encourages it’s suppliers to register with NETpositive (net-positive.org) which is a socially responsible public procurement tool, to assist our suppliers to report on, track progress and build an action plan. It is free for suppliers to use to encourage LSE suppliers to use it’s influential power and business decision making to pay a living wage and improve the working conditions for all workers in LSE’s supply chain. To learn more about the Net Positive tool, please view this walkthrough: Supplier Engagement Tool Walkthrough - YouTube