About Us

Trinity House is a charity dedicated to safeguarding shipping and seafarers, providing education, support and welfare to the seafaring community with a statutory duty as a General Lighthouse Authority to deliver a reliable, efficient and cost-effective aids to navigation service for the benefit and safety of all mariners.

The Corporation of Trinity House was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1514 to regulate pilotage on the River Thames and provide for aged mariners.

With a mandate that has expanded considerably since then, we are today the UK’s largest-endowed maritime charity, the General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar and a fraternity of men and women selected from across the nation’s maritime sector.

Our long-standing familiarity with the channels, hazards, currents and markings of our coastline also qualify us to inspect and audit over 11,000 local aids to navigation, license Deep Sea Pilots and provide Elder Brethren as Nautical Assessors to the Admiralty Court.

Per annum the charity donates around £4m to the charities we support. These include the provision of cadet training schemes, welfare provision for retired mariners and educational programmes teaching safety at sea skills.

Our mission as a General Lighthouse Authority is to deliver a reliable, efficient and cost-effective aids to navigation service for the benefit and safety of all mariners.

Furthermore, as a charity we help to ensure that British commercial shipping is crewed by well-trained men and women and that mariners in need of all ages and backgrounds are supported in a number of ways either directly by us or through grants to other maritime charities and initiatives. Trinity House works closely with a number of highly-regarded national and international organisations, including the Northern Lighthouse Board, Irish Lights, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, the UK Hydrographic Office and the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA), to name just a few.

Ethical Sourcing

Through its procurement activities and contract management, Trinity House commits to fair and ethical processes which enable a vast array of suppliers to be successful in gaining short and long term contracts with prompt payment reassurances.

Trinity House is proud of its commercial contracts placed with Small to Medium Enterprises (SME’s), which are awarded through a combination of quotation, tendered and sub-contracted opportunities. Trinity House has committed to working to the Department for Transports Modern Slavery Policy and utilises the Modern Slavery Assessment Tool (MSAT) on high value contract commitments. Suppliers wishing to register via the MSAT should follow this link Modern Slavery Assessment Tool – Supplier Registration Service (cabinetoffice.gov.uk)

Purchasing Policy/Procurement Policy

As a Public Body Trinity House purchases in accordance with UK policy on transparency, and other appropriate legislation.

Where a contract exceeds £25,000 to UK/WTO Threshold, the contract will be formally advertised as a competitive opportunity.
Contract opportunities exceeding UK/WTO Thresholds require further advertising within www.find-tender.service.gov.uk

Where collaborative procurement exercises are completed, TH commits to full transparency via appropriately published notices.

For all general enquiries please email procurement.team@trinityhouse.co.uk

If you have any queries regarding TH’s purchasing policy and procedures please contact Beth Briggs, Procurement Manager.