A survey of 1,000 businesses conducted by freelancers website PeoplePerHour.com reveals that just over half intend to bid for public sector contracts, although the majority are pessimistic about winning the work.

Three quarters of respondents are concerned about red tape if they do succeed in winning contracts, while nearly half are concerned they will be left with the less lucrative contracts as the bigger players continue to win the big-money deals.

PeoplePerHour.com founder Xenios Thrasyvoulou says the government needs to ensure small businesses can compete to win contracts by making sure the tender process is ‘uncomplicated and transparent’.

This month, the government launched an online facility that enables SMEs to share their public procurement stories in a bid to improve the procurement process.