The organisation was set up by Henry VIII in 1514 and spends over £10 million a year overseeing the 71 lighthouses, 11 light vessels and 412 navigational buoys around England, Wales and the Channel Islands.

It has more than 3,000 suppliers, but “the aim is to reduce that by 60 per cent in the next couple of years”, he said.

Supplier numbers are likely to...