Why Priority-40 exists
First in the room.
40 NHS trusts have never handed cleaning, catering, portering or estates to an outside partner. That is about to change. Priority-40 is how Sodexo gets there before the tender is written, not after.
The trusts on this list have run soft services in-house for their entire history. The reasons that held for a decade have stopped holding this year. Deficits above CIP targets. Capital programmes being cut back. New chief executives with a mandate to change what their predecessors would not. The trust that finally decides to look outside will not run an open beauty parade. It will call the two or three partners it already trusts. Priority-40 is the operating system that puts Sodexo in that phone call.
Third in the room means answering a tender someone else shaped.
Second in the room means being compared on price.
First in the room means writing the brief with them.
The list
The 40 trusts that have not outsourced.
Across England, around 100 NHS trusts of the 209 that provide acute, mental health, community and specialist care are still fully or partially in-house on soft-FM. Priority-40 is the top forty of that pool. The forty where readiness is highest and Sodexo can move first. The other sixty sit in the watch programme to 2030.
Sources . NHS Providers 2024 . Sodexo UK 2025 market insight
The NHS soft-FM (the people-facing services . cleaning, catering, portering, waste, linen, security) outsourcing market is not a general market. It is 40 specific trusts whose current arrangements make them plausible first-outsourcing candidates over the next two to three years. Each has a distinct trigger. A CFO change. A board decision. A CQC visit. A merger. A capital-programme moment. Each requires a different opening move.
Every acronym used across the programme is defined in the portal glossary.
The list is the initiative. The named trusts and their individual triggers live inside the operating portal for named users. Priority-40 is the strategic frame that everything else in this hub answers to.
Priority-40 selection method
Weighted for Sodexo to win. Not for who is shouting loudest.
Each of the 40 trusts scored above the Sodexo-win threshold on a five-component composite model. The model is tuned to Sodexo's proposition, not to the wider NHS market. It is re-scored quarterly. Trusts drop off when the case weakens.
The composite score is the single sort key. Rank is derived from score descending. Ties break on warmth, then deficit-to-turnover ratio, then turnover. Ask why a trust sits where it sits and the answer is always the composite score.
The five components and their weights
Weights sum to 100. A composite total of 62 or above puts a trust into the Priority-40. Below 62 and still in-house, a trust sits on the Watchlist.
| Component | Weight | Signal type | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial pressure | 30% | Deficit ratio against turnover, CIP target size, published FY25 or FY26 position | 0 to 30 |
| Estates readiness | 25% | PLACE score, backlog maintenance ratio, estates strategy publication | 0 to 25 |
| Governance signal | 20% | Chair or CE change in last 24 months, board pack tone, transformation posture | 0 to 20 |
| Executive relationship warmth | 15% | Existing Sodexo contact, mutual connections, event overlap, Chair or NED prior context | 0 to 15 |
| Group and collaborative pressure | 10% | Provider collaborative mandate, group-first outsourcing precedent, peer moves | 0 to 10 |
The top ten today
Inherited from the register in score order. WUTH 73.50 . Northern Care Alliance 71.70 . Liverpool Women's 71.10 . Wrightington, Wigan & Leigh 71.00 . Newcastle Hospitals 71.00 . Lewisham & Greenwich 71.00 . Guy's & St Thomas' 70.90 . Clatterbridge Cancer 70.20 . Mid Yorkshire 69.60 . Northumbria 68.50.
Score bands
| Band | Weighted score | What it means | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priority-40 | 62 and above | Sodexo can win it. Live target this quarter. | In the operating portal. Named campaign owner. Weekly Herald mention when moved. |
| Watchlist | Below 62, still in-house | Case is not yet strong enough. Worth a fresh signal. | Not in the 40. Reviewed at the next quarterly re-score. Envoy keeps the named individuals current. |
| Out of scope | Rule failed, any score | No Sodexo-win case today. | Removed from the register. Re-considered only if a public signal changes. |
One number does the work. The 62 point boundary is the single threshold that puts a trust on the Priority-40. Score 62 or above and the trust is on the list. Below 62 and still in-house, the trust sits on the Watchlist. Fail one of the three exclusion rules and the trust is Out of scope, whatever the score.
One worked example
Illustrative trust. Shows how the five components combine into a total. Numbers are illustrative for this build. Production numbers come from the operating portal.
| Component | Weight | Signal used | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial pressure | 30% | FY25 deficit and CIP pressure from Board Pack | 24 of 30 |
| Estates readiness | 25% | PLACE score, backlog maintenance from ERIC | 20 of 25 |
| Governance signal | 20% | CQC well led rating and Chair statement | 14 of 20 |
| Executive relationship warmth | 15% | Warmth 1 to 5 from Relationship register | 9 of 15 |
| Group and collaborative pressure | 10% | ICB position on shared services | 7 of 10 |
| TOTAL | 100% | 74 of 100 |
Worked example for a trust with total score 74 (Priority-40 entry cleared at 62). The five components combine into a single composite. Signals used are traceable to their public source. See the Methodology tab in the Knowledge library for the full definition.
This trust is comfortably inside the Priority-40. Its strongest component is Financial pressure (Ledger). Its weakest is Executive relationship warmth (Envoy). The next colleague action is obvious. Warm the relationship before the campaign leaves Stage 2.
How the list stays honest
- Re-scored every quarter. Every factor pulled from the operating portal, not typed by hand.
- Trusts drop off when the case weakens. Signal recency ages out first. Sodexo advantage weakens if the KPI gap closes.
- Trusts move on when the case strengthens. Watchlist trusts move up when Beacon or Ledger catches a new named trigger.
- Colleagues can raise a challenge to a score. Steward logs the challenge, the governance lead reviews it, the outcome is recorded on the trust card.
- The model itself is reviewed once a year. Weights are only changed with a documented reason and a named reviewer.
What this method is not
- Not a general NHS market screen. It is tuned to what Sodexo can win with its current proposition.
- Not a value-of-contract ranking. Contract value is not in the model on its own. Sodexo advantage carries the commercial framing.
- Not a black box. Every factor names its signal owner and its evidence source. Colleagues can see and challenge every number.
- Not fixed for the year. Trusts move in and out at the quarterly re-score.
Sodexo systems
Priority-40 sits on top of what Sodexo already has.
Priority-40 sits on top of Sodexo's existing systems. Sodexo's CRM stays the system of record for accounts and contacts. Sodexo's pipeline stays the system of record for opportunities. Sodexo's data assets, sector insights and intelligence stay where they live today. Priority-40 pulls all of it through into one governed weekly view on 40 named NHS trusts, alongside the human intelligence and relationships colleagues bring in through the intake queue.
The 40 trusts are not just a spreadsheet. They are named individuals colleagues have already met, conversations already had, meetings already sat through and signals already noticed. Priority-40 makes that human intelligence and those relationships visible in the same place as the external data. The intake queue is how it gets in. The governance rules are how it stays inside Sodexo.
Why the model travels
Why this model suits any B2B market where the sale is long and the buyer is a room.
B2B soft-FM buying is not one decision by one person. It is a room. A Chair, a Chief Executive, a CFO, a Director of Estates, a bid team and often a procurement partner. The decision moves slowly, it moves across multiple triggers and it is shaped by evidence long before a tender is written. Priority-40 is built for that reality, and the same design travels to any considered B2B purchase.
One. Long buying cycles reward continuous listening not one off pitches.
The outside-in engine reads public signals every day. Board packs, PLACE scores, ERIC, CQC, Companies House and competitor moves. A single pitch cannot compete with a partner who arrives already fluent in the buyer's own numbers.
Two. Multi stakeholder rooms reward mapped relationships not single account owners.
The inside-out engine turns Sodexo's own contacts and warmth ratings into a Relationship register that names who Sodexo already knows, at what depth and through whom. The room is mapped before the meeting.
Three. Considered purchases reward tiered evidence not one liners.
Every fact on the portal is Tier 1 (public, quotable) or Tier 2 (internal, working). That distinction lets Sodexo carry a strong external position that never leaks internal intelligence into a bid response.
Four. Regulated buyers reward governance not novelty.
Seven commitments, four named reviewers on every campaign, daily audit by Steward, one click concern raise and a named right to withdraw or correct any record. The same discipline that a Sodexo Group compliance reviewer expects is what an NHS Chair, a housing association board or a defence procurement lead also expects.
Priority-40 is not a healthcare pattern that happens to work elsewhere. It is a B2B pattern that happens to work in healthcare first.
Why now
Why Sodexo is doing this now.
Four drivers, in Sodexo's own voice.
Our promises
What the initiative promises Sodexo colleagues.
Five commitments, phrased as promises Sodexo makes to its own people.
Team
The team behind Priority-40.
Nine agent colleagues do the reading. Seven human functions do the winning. Priority-40 is a team effort held together by shared discipline.
Every campaign that leaves Sodexo passes through named colleagues. Every decision that shapes Priority-40 sits with a named human function. The nine agent colleagues sit alongside this team. They read, draft and surface. They do not decide.
Account Director
Named lead for each of the 40 trusts. Owns warmth building, named contact strategy and win narrative.
Authenticates. Every campaign that leaves Sodexo. Warmth updates. Trust readiness sign off.
Bid Director
Turns agent colleague signals and Account Director narrative into evidence based bid responses. Runs Tier 1 versus Tier 2 discipline on every citation.
Authenticates. Bid pack contents. Case study inclusion. Tier 1 evidence citations.
Insight Lead
Owns trust research quality. Reviews agent colleague output before it reaches the register. Consulted on estates readiness and mobilisation assumptions.
Authenticates. Evidence tiering. Readiness scoring inputs. Source verification.
Growth Marketing Lead
Shapes voice, positioning and campaign creative. Reviews every asset before send. Three named reviewers. S. Lilley, Y. Zimmerman, L. Fairhurst.
Authenticates. Creative direction. Channel plan. LinkedIn and campaign activity.
Content Lead
Writes and edits the papers, sequences and case studies the portal publishes. Holds the house style and the plain English rule.
Authenticates. Published copy. Case study wording. Knowledge library entries.
Data and Analytics Lead
Feeds pipeline discipline. Runs the CRM plus agent colleague signal integration. Reports weekly on movement.
Authenticates. CRM data quality. Signal to opportunity conversion. Pipeline reporting.
Programme Lead
Owns the strategic outcome. Sets targets against Shift and Grow 2030. Escalation point for stalled trusts.
Authenticates. Quarterly programme review. Progression decisions across the three populations.
How the team works together
Priority-40 runs on a weekly cadence with a quarterly review. The team collaborates across three rhythms.
Weekly rhythm. The operating team.
Every Monday morning the agent colleagues push their weekly digest. Signals moved. Warmth changed. New named contacts logged. The operating team (BD Directors, Sales Enablement, Marketing lead) reads the digest and decides that week's actions.
- BD Directors act on their named trusts. New warmth conversations. Follow ups. Campaign triggers.
- Sales Enablement checks CRM alignment. Flags any signal that does not have a named owner.
- Marketing reviews any campaign asset queued for send that week. Three named reviewers before anything leaves Sodexo.
Fortnightly rhythm. Cross functional working session.
Every fortnight the operating team meets with a Bid Team lead and an Ops lead. Half an hour. Two agenda items.
- Trusts moving on and off Priority-40 (Watchlist to Priority-40 promotions, Priority-40 drops). Reviewed with reasons.
- One deep dive on a specific trust. Bid Team sizes the opportunity. Ops calls the delivery feasibility. BD Director owns the follow up.
Quarterly rhythm. Executive review.
Every quarter the Executive Sponsor and one C-level representative join the operating team. One hour. Three agenda items.
- Shift and Grow 2030 progress. Pipeline value added. Trusts advanced to Stage 3. Wins closed.
- Agent colleague performance. Confidence scores. New capabilities entering audited live status. Retirements.
- One strategic decision. Priority-40 to Priority-60 progression. New market expansion. Investment ask.
Priority-40 works because the human team is disciplined about its cadence and the agent colleagues are disciplined about their evidence. Neither works without the other. Together they compound into a pipeline that gets sharper every week.