# Exeter: spending over £500 url: https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/councils/spending-over-500/exeter/ updated: 29 September 2026 licence: Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Figures: each source's own licence, listed under Sources. publisher: [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk) # Exeter: spending over £500 Last updated 29 September 2026. Figures refresh every night. [How each figure is worked out](/methodology/). Exeter published **8,564 payments** of £500 or more between August 2025 and July 2026, worth **£46.4m** in all, to 1,094 suppliers. The largest total went to Mears Ltd: £7.0m across 758 payments. These are the council's own published records; the gaps in them are listed below. ## Key figures - £46.4mPaid in payments of £500 or more, latest year - 8,564Payments - 1,094Suppliers - 12 of 12Months with payments published ## What the council published - Augpublished - Septpublished - Octpublished - Novpublished - Decpublished - Janpublished - Febpublished - Marpublished - Aprpublished - Maypublished - Junpublished - Julpublished **Gaps and problems in the data, as published:** - 11 credits and refunds (negative amounts, £16,892 in all) are included, so totals are net. ## Top 50 suppliers by value Search | Supplier | Paid | Payments | | --- | --- | --- | | Mears LtdDetails | £6,970,322 | 758 | | Payments758 | | | | Strata Service Solutions LtdDetails | £3,538,822 | 53 | | Payments53 | | | | ComensuraDetails | £2,640,053 | 774 | | Payments774 | | | | Specialist Fleet Services LtdDetails | £2,086,606 | 975 | | Payments975 | | | | Zurich MunicipalDetails | £1,696,158 | 18 | | Payments18 | | | | Classic Builders (South West) LtdDetails | £1,592,837 | 4 | | Payments4 | | | | Edf Energy Customers LtdDetails | £1,245,220 | 212 | | Payments212 | | | | Clc Contractors LtdDetails | £1,062,552 | 139 | | Payments139 | | | | Mercury Construction (South West) LtdDetails | £863,346 | 80 | | Payments80 | | | | Liberty Gas Group LtdDetails | £806,139 | 51 | | Payments51 | | | | Exeter Cvs (Colab)Details | £800,346 | 15 | | Payments15 | | | | Sureserve Energy Services South West LtdDetails | £508,984 | 27 | | Payments27 | | | | Post Office Limited - PayoutDetails | £495,000 | 3 | | Payments3 | | | | Dodd Group (South) LtdDetails | £473,566 | 33 | | Payments33 | | | | Source For Business T/A Sw Water BusinessDetails | £435,009 | 133 | | Payments133 | | | | Bournemouth Churches Housing Assn (Bcha)Details | £410,449 | 8 | | Payments8 | | | | East Devon District CouncilDetails | £400,725 | 3 | | Payments3 | | | | Devon County CouncilDetails | £375,507 | 28 | | Payments28 | | | | Surestay Housing LtdDetails | £372,724 | 71 | | Payments71 | | | | Kier Construction LtdDetails | £343,135 | 4 | | Payments4 | | | | Westcountry Fire Protection LtdDetails | £326,914 | 61 | | Payments61 | | | | Allstar Business SolutionsDetails | £313,767 | 97 | | Payments97 | | | | Julian HouseDetails | £297,980 | 6 | | Payments6 | | | | Corona EnergyDetails | £285,543 | 100 | | Payments100 | | | | Dolphin Lifts South WestDetails | £285,517 | 56 | | Payments56 | | | | Grant ThorntonDetails | £271,861 | 8 | | Payments8 | | | | Inexeter LtdDetails | £268,760 | 18 | | Payments18 | | | | Royal Devon University Hospitals NhsftDetails | £266,481 | 9 | | Payments9 | | | | Ringgo LimitedDetails | £259,682 | 11 | | Payments11 | | | | Home Group LtdDetails | £253,500 | 5 | | Payments5 | | | | Skinner Construction LtdDetails | £223,501 | 2 | | Payments2 | | | | Atkinsrealis Uk LtdDetails | £221,102 | 7 | | Payments7 | | | | Scheidt & Bachmann (Uk) LtdDetails | £213,311 | 5 | | Payments5 | | | | Exeter City Community Trust (Fitc)Details | £208,938 | 14 | | Payments14 | | | | CobwebsDetails | £204,453 | 27 | | Payments27 | | | | Archway FacilitiesDetails | £203,234 | 44 | | Payments44 | | | | Red House HotelDetails | £200,361 | 10 | | Payments10 | | | | Evouchers LtdDetails | £200,000 | 1 | | Payments1 | | | | Devon Tree ServicesDetails | £193,524 | 149 | | Payments149 | | | | Patronus Security Uk LtdDetails | £188,432 | 122 | | Payments122 | | | | Livewest LtdDetails | £176,357 | 19 | | Payments19 | | | | Devon Partnership Nhs TrustDetails | £175,415 | 1 | | Payments1 | | | | Sciprint LtdDetails | £162,721 | 21 | | Payments21 | | | | Wemco LtdDetails | £155,165 | 62 | | Payments62 | | | | Faithful & Gould/Atkins GroupDetails | £154,007 | 8 | | Payments8 | | | | University Of Plymouth Enterprise LtdDetails | £151,246 | 2 | | Payments2 | | | | Debit Finance Collections PlcDetails | £145,139 | 24 | | Payments24 | | | | TravelodgeDetails | £137,245 | 12 | | Payments12 | | | | Glendale Countryside LtdDetails | £135,414 | 32 | | Payments32 | | | | Envirocall LimitedDetails | £132,160 | 12 | | Payments12 | | | ## Spending by category (our classification) Payments this site classifies into each category from the supplier and the council's description; most payments fall into none. The rules are on the [methodology page](/methodology/#spend-over-500). **Exeter: payments by category (our classification)** - 1. Consultancy and agency staff £5,997,673 1294 payments - 2. Payments to other councils and public bodies £1,092,390 62 payments - 3. Large outsourcing and contracting firms £697,152 65 payments - 4. IT and software £459,103 102 payments - 5. Legal fees £291,497 85 payments - 6. Communications and PR £153,233 68 payments - 7. Catering and hospitality £74,894 86 payments - 8. Conferences and events £74,856 40 payments **Show as a table** | Name | Paid | | --- | --- | | 1. Consultancy and agency staff | £5,997,673 | | 2. Payments to other councils and public bodies | £1,092,390 | | 3. Large outsourcing and contracting firms | £697,152 | | 4. IT and software | £459,103 | | 5. Legal fees | £291,497 | | 6. Communications and PR | £153,233 | | 7. Catering and hospitality | £74,894 | | 8. Conferences and events | £74,856 | **Payments to other councils and public bodies: largest suppliers** The supplier is another council, a police, fire or NHS body, a government department or agency, or a pension fund. - East Devon District Council: £400,725 (3 payments) - Devon County Council: £375,507 (28 payments) - Devon Partnership Nhs Trust: £175,415 (1 payment) - Dorset County Council: £50,667 (1 payment) - Exeter City Council: £22,467 (2 payments) - Environment Agency: £13,953 (4 payments) - Teignbridge District Council: £12,873 (8 payments) - Salford City Council: £10,000 (1 payment) - Oxford City Council: £6,000 (1 payment) - Laser Energy (Kent County Council): £5,400 (1 payment) **Large outsourcing and contracting firms: largest suppliers** The supplier is one of a named list of large firms that run council services under contract. A payment to one is often a routine instalment on a long contract. - Kier Construction Ltd: £343,135 (4 payments) - Glendale Countryside Ltd: £135,414 (32 payments) - Suez Recycling & Recovery Ltd: £122,077 (15 payments) - Kier Inegrated Services Ltd: £61,306 (1 payment) - Mitie Property Services: £22,073 (5 payments) - Engie Gas Ltd: £9,231 (5 payments) - Sodexo Motivation Solutions Uk T/A Pluxee Uk: £3,916 (3 payments) **Legal fees: largest suppliers** The supplier is a law firm or chambers, or the council describes the payment as legal fees, counsel or court fees. - Freeths Llp: £91,779 (17 payments) - Ashfords: £53,806 (12 payments) - Lexis Nexis Uk: £31,083 (1 payment) - Womble Bond Dickinson (Uk) Llp: £12,303 (1 payment) - Stephens & Scown Solicitors Llp: £12,191 (6 payments) - Trowers & Hamlins Llp: £11,870 (2 payments) - Mrs Debbie Grennan: £7,850 (6 payments) - Comensura: £7,642 (2 payments) - Mr Christopher Jones: £6,825 (3 payments) - Graysons Solicitors: £6,583 (1 payment) **Consultancy and agency staff: largest suppliers** The supplier is a recruitment agency or consultancy on a named list, or the council describes the payment as consultancy, agency or interim staff, or professional fees. - Comensura: £2,632,410 (772 payments) - Strata Service Solutions Ltd: £581,804 (2 payments) - Surestay Housing Ltd: £277,079 (50 payments) - Grant Thornton: £271,861 (8 payments) - Atkinsrealis Uk Ltd: £221,102 (7 payments) - Scheidt & Bachmann (Uk) Ltd: £207,261 (2 payments) - Faithful & Gould/Atkins Group: £153,152 (7 payments) - Poynton Bradbury Wynter Cole Ltd: £108,965 (3 payments) - The Oyster Partnership Ltd: £105,977 (61 payments) - Buro Happold Ltd: £94,448 (2 payments) **IT and software: largest suppliers** The supplier is on a named list of IT and telecoms firms, or the council describes the payment as software, licences, IT, hardware, hosting or telephony. - Debit Finance Collections Plc: £145,139 (24 payments) - Pce Technology Ltd: £80,182 (1 payment) - Granicus-Firmstep Limited: £38,133 (5 payments) - Ppl Prs Ltd: £32,261 (3 payments) - Strata Service Solutions Ltd: £28,784 (7 payments) - Oneadvanced Limited: £19,265 (1 payment) - Les Mills Fitness Uk Ltd: £19,204 (25 payments) - Fitronics Ltd (T/A Cap2): £9,407 (1 payment) - Idox Software Ltd: £8,584 (1 payment) - Housing Partners Ltd: £8,224 (1 payment) **Communications and PR: largest suppliers** The council describes the payment as advertising, marketing, publicity or public relations. Recruitment and statutory notices are left out. - The National Leaflet Company: £53,826 (9 payments) - Cushman & Wakefield: £14,968 (3 payments) - Brightsea Ltd: £11,115 (5 payments) - Chalk & Ward Advertising: £10,962 (5 payments) - The Graphic Design House: £7,449 (4 payments) - Inexeter Ltd: £6,500 (2 payments) - Data Thistle: £5,045 (2 payments) - Devon Association Of Tourist Attractions: £4,500 (3 payments) - Avoy Technologies Ltd: £3,800 (1 payment) - The Purple Company (Uk) Ltd: £3,108 (2 payments) **Conferences and events: largest suppliers** The council describes the payment as a conference, seminar, exhibition, event or venue hire. - Jeremy Southam: £20,000 (1 payment) - Crown Fine Art Ltd: £9,619 (3 payments) - Sam Talbot Ltd: £6,000 (2 payments) - Watkiss Art International: £3,760 (2 payments) - Bayside Signs & Display: £3,335 (3 payments) - Josh Pratt: £3,200 (2 payments) - Stalite Signs Ltd: £3,011 (3 payments) - South West Heritage Trust: £3,000 (1 payment) - Local Government Association: £2,995 (4 payments) - Contemporary Art Society: £2,200 (1 payment) **Catering and hospitality: largest suppliers** The council describes the payment as catering, hospitality or refreshments. School meals are left out. - Graze By Dish: £50,845 (47 payments) - Whmc Trading Co Ltd: £7,500 (14 payments) - Bidfood: £3,407 (6 payments) - J & R Foodservice Ltd: £3,399 (6 payments) - 13 (City Of Exeter) Sqn Atc: £2,667 (3 payments) - Coffeeworks Ltd: £2,216 (4 payments) - R D Johns Ltd: £2,051 (3 payments) - Pas Sound & Communications Ltd: £1,225 (1 payment) - Exeter Cathedral Enterprises Ltd: £1,000 (1 payment) - Dan'S American Kitchen: £585 (1 payment) ## Spending by the council's own service areas **Exeter: payments by service area, as the council labels them** - 1. General Maintenance £3,713,174 608 payments - 2. Strata Contract Payment £2,761,799 7 payments - 3. Fleet Contract Hire £1,965,637 949 payments - 4. Repairs To Void Properties £1,647,525 89 payments - 5. Vaughan Road Phase A £1,631,674 19 payments - 6. Public Liability Insurance £1,582,320 14 payments - 7. General Management £1,138,691 85 payments - 8. Edf Electricity Suspense £1,050,023 164 payments - 9. Service Contracts £986,355 176 payments - 10. St Sidwell'S Point Ops £833,908 257 payments - 11. Disabled Facilities Grants £822,463 161 payments - 12. Materials Reclamation Facility £791,807 198 payments - 13. Exeter Corn Exchange £780,728 222 payments - 14. Car Parks £768,473 118 payments - 15. Kitchen Replacements £733,398 41 payments **Show as a table** | Name | Paid | | --- | --- | | 1. General Maintenance | £3,713,174 | | 2. Strata Contract Payment | £2,761,799 | | 3. Fleet Contract Hire | £1,965,637 | | 4. Repairs To Void Properties | £1,647,525 | | 5. Vaughan Road Phase A | £1,631,674 | | 6. Public Liability Insurance | £1,582,320 | | 7. General Management | £1,138,691 | | 8. Edf Electricity Suspense | £1,050,023 | | 9. Service Contracts | £986,355 | | 10. St Sidwell'S Point Ops | £833,908 | | 11. Disabled Facilities Grants | £822,463 | | 12. Materials Reclamation Facility | £791,807 | | 13. Exeter Corn Exchange | £780,728 | | 14. Car Parks | £768,473 | | 15. Kitchen Replacements | £733,398 | | 16. Fire Risk Assessment Works | £729,264 | | 17. Wellbeing Exeter | £685,838 | | 18. Refuse Collection | £683,325 | | 19. Recharges From Strata | £575,740 | | 20. Adaptations | £516,360 | | 21. Paris Suspense | £515,578 | | 22. Property Maintenance | £514,000 | | 23. Riverside Leisure Centre | £471,474 | | 24. Prog'D Elec Re-Wiring General | £415,259 | | 25. Household Support Fund 7 | £404,377 | ## Who is paid for grounds, street cleaning, roads and bins? The suppliers paid most for each kind of work, where the council's own labels say what the payment was for (our matching). A council that does the work with its own staff pays mostly wages, which are not in this data, so a short list here can mean the work is done in-house. **Parks and open spaces (including play areas): largest suppliers** - 1. Comensura £94,857 38 payments - 2. Aba Groundcare (Sw) Ltd £51,116 5 payments - 3. Allstar Business Solutions £37,568 21 payments - 4. Moorland Fuels £17,417 6 payments - 5. Hays Accountancy Personnel £16,066 16 payments - 6. Mercury Construction (South West) Ltd £14,040 3 payments - 7. Masons Kings £13,171 12 payments - 8. Source For Business T/A Sw Water Business £13,133 12 payments **Show as a table** | Name | Paid | | --- | --- | | 1. Comensura | £94,857 | | 2. Aba Groundcare (Sw) Ltd | £51,116 | | 3. Allstar Business Solutions | £37,568 | | 4. Moorland Fuels | £17,417 | | 5. Hays Accountancy Personnel | £16,066 | | 6. Mercury Construction (South West) Ltd | £14,040 | | 7. Masons Kings | £13,171 | | 8. Source For Business T/A Sw Water Business | £13,133 | | 9. Aitkens Sportsturf Ltd | £12,845 | | 10. Rock Compliance | £7,664 | **Street cleaning: largest suppliers** - 1. Comensura £94,726 56 payments - 2. Allstar Business Solutions £52,980 11 payments - 3. Hako Machines Ltd £20,016 2 payments - 4. J & A Young (Leicester) Ltd £6,885 1 payment - 5. Northern Municipal Spares £6,663 3 payments - 6. Day'S Rental £4,278 5 payments - 7. Tam Marketing Ltd £838 1 payment - 8. Exeter Coachworks Ltd £830 1 payment **Show as a table** | Name | Paid | | --- | --- | | 1. Comensura | £94,726 | | 2. Allstar Business Solutions | £52,980 | | 3. Hako Machines Ltd | £20,016 | | 4. J & A Young (Leicester) Ltd | £6,885 | | 5. Northern Municipal Spares | £6,663 | | 6. Day'S Rental | £4,278 | | 7. Tam Marketing Ltd | £838 | | 8. Exeter Coachworks Ltd | £830 | | 9. Specialist Fleet Services Ltd | £515 | **Waste collection: largest suppliers** - 1. Comensura £206,285 72 payments - 2. Allstar Business Solutions £198,455 33 payments - 3. Peter Ridley Waste Systems £113,328 7 payments - 4. Straight Manufacturing Ltd T/A Ipl Plastics £55,530 3 payments - 5. Contenur Uk Limited £52,215 5 payments - 6. Craemer Uk Ltd £39,137 4 payments - 7. Storm Environmental Ltd £36,301 5 payments - 8. Qms Ltd £24,354 1 payment **Show as a table** | Name | Paid | | --- | --- | | 1. Comensura | £206,285 | | 2. Allstar Business Solutions | £198,455 | | 3. Peter Ridley Waste Systems | £113,328 | | 4. Straight Manufacturing Ltd T/A Ipl Plastics | £55,530 | | 5. Contenur Uk Limited | £52,215 | | 6. Craemer Uk Ltd | £39,137 | | 7. Storm Environmental Ltd | £36,301 | | 8. Qms Ltd | £24,354 | | 9. Bam Construction Ltd - Site Solutions | £19,908 | | 10. Mer Fleet Services | £17,912 | ## Consultancy and agency against the pay bill Payments we classify as consultancy and agency staff came to **23.2%** of Exeter's own staff costs in its 2025-26 revenue return, against a median of 9.8% for the other district councils in England read so far. The payments and the staff costs come from different sources and periods, so this is a guide to scale. ## Search every payment Searching needs JavaScript. Every payment is in [one JSON file](/data/spend500/tx/E07000041.json). Every payment, as the council published it, is in [one JSON file](/data/spend500/tx/E07000041.json); the search can download any selection as CSV. ## What this data does and doesn't show - It is the council's own record of payments of £500 or more. It leaves out salaries, most staff costs and many internal costs, so it is not the council's whole spending. - Descriptions are the council's own and vary in quality; some are codes, some are blank, and some supplier names are withheld to protect individuals. - A large payment to one supplier is often a routine instalment on a long contract that was tendered openly. - The categories and the matching to services are this site's classification from keywords, not the council's. The rules are on the [methodology page](/methodology/#spend-over-500). ## Sources Exeter, spending over £500, [published here](https://exeter.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/council-information/council-data/council-spending/). Licence as the council states it: Open Government Licence (linked on page). Checked 2026-09-24; files read 2026-09-29. **Every file read (5)** - [Apr 2026 - Jun 2026 (.cvs)](https://exeter.gov.uk/media/fdpp4k4f/spend-analysis-report-q1-26-27_redacted.csv) (2026-04), file dated 2026-07-14: 2,181 payments of £500 or more. Read 2026-09-29. - [Jan 2026 - Mar 2026 (.csv)](https://exeter.gov.uk/media/riofkkdh/spend-analysis-q4-25-26-redacted-21-04-26.csv) (2026-01), file dated 2026-06-30: 2,458 payments of £500 or more. Read 2026-09-29. - [Oct 2025 - Dec 2025 (.csv)](https://exeter.gov.uk/media/wqfmniot/spend-analysis-q3-25-26-redacted.csv) (2025-10), file dated 2026-03-10: 2,396 payments of £500 or more. Read 2026-09-29. - [July 2025 – Sept 2025 (.csv)](https://exeter.gov.uk/media/hrvlz0hp/spend-analysis-q2-25-26-1-redacted.csv) (2025-07), file dated 2026-03-10: 3,230 payments of £500 or more. Read 2026-09-29. - [Apr 2025 - Jun 2025 (.csv)](https://exeter.gov.uk/media/3mepgx4n/spend-analysis-q1-25-26-redacted.csv) (2025-04), file dated 2026-03-10: 1,531 payments of £500 or more. Read 2026-09-29. ## Related pages - [Back to Council spending over £500](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/councils/spending-over-500/) - [How much is council tax and what does it pay for?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/council-tax/) - [Who is my MP, and what does their office cost?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/mps/) - [Where does my tax money actually go?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/for-every-100-pounds-of-tax/) ## More from this publisher - [UK tax calculators](https://howlongisit.co.uk) Published by [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). The figures belong to the publishers listed under Sources and are used under their licences. Figures last updated 29 September 2026.