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Bid and tender experts Andrew Morrison and Chris Denyer have joined forces, to launch a new company, Aspire Bidding.
Based in Edinburgh, Aspire Bidding has started trading with a UK-wide client base already on its books, from the west of Scotland and the Lothians north of the border, to Yorkshire, Cheltenham and London in the south.
The boutique consultancy has launched with six members of staff located throughout the country, with plans in place to add to the personnel as the firm grows across multi sectors.
Aspire Bidding is targeting firms with a turnover in excess of £10m.
The co-founders’ combined experience spans the bidding process, including writing bids, shaping strategy, training teams and evaluating submissions:
“I am very much looking forward to harnessing our years of bidding experience,” said Andrew.
“I have so much respect for Chris’ work, particularly his great understanding of AI in bid writing.
“The bidding landscape is changing rapidly. AI, bid-automation platforms, content libraries and AI-enabled drafting tools are now widely available. Most organisations – and most bid consultancies – now have access to the same tools, the same templates, and increasingly, the same language.
“On the surface, bids are becoming faster to produce but in reality, many are becoming more generic, more similar and less persuasive. Our bids are shaped by experienced bid professionals, not junior writers following templates or prompts, and are put together in a compelling way.
“There are things that AI can do more quickly. However, AI has its limits and, as yet, is no match for human, specialist bid expertise. As AI accelerates the mechanics of bid writing, it exposes a deeper truth: winning bids has always been about judgement, insight and human decision-making. As human beings, we make decisions dictated by the emotional parts of the brain and as yet, AI doesn’t have these emotions.
“AI also has glitches and gets quite a lot wrong, so care and experience are needed when using it and that’s where Chris’ expertise will be a real asset.
“We will also take our clients’ people on the journey with us so that their knowledge and experience grow as a result of our involvement. While we can offer a ‘done for you’ service, working with us on a ‘done with you’ basis will leave a legacy of developing the skill set of existing teams.”
Originally from Sussex, Chris moved to Glasgow last year and has spent more than a decade writing bids for SMEs in construction – one of the key sectors that Aspire Bidding will be focusing on in 2026:
“I first met Andrew a year ago and have always been impressed by his knowledge of the sector. He is extremely well known and very good at what he does,” said Chris:
“The more we worked on things together, the more sense it made to join forces as I believe our different strengths are a powerful match. I’m really looking forward to seeing where the partnership takes us.
“We want to work with companies who aspire to improve and grow. If companies are committed to really investing in their ability to win work, even if they are not the biggest of firms, we can help them.
“Our focus is on people, an element so often overlooked in bidding; our goal is to bring a human touch to the process and make the whole experience stress-free for clients.
“One of the common reasons why bids fail is a lack of human connection. Many bids describe services, processes and policies flawlessly, yet leave evaluators unable to answer the simple question: ‘What will it actually be like to work with these people?’
“Aspire Bidding places the human reality of the bidding organisation at the centre of the response.”
Pictured, left-right, Andrew Morrison and Chris Denyer
