Canteen and catering services: UK Tenders, Buyers & Competition

CPV 55500000Services · classin Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

Codes and neighbouring classes

The 8-digit CPV codes notices in this class actually use, and the other classes of the same division

Open tenders in canteen and catering services

7 live at the nightly build · soonest deadline first

Who buys

All notices carrying this code · official UK_CA_TYPE where published (NHS bodies are central government authorities), else derived from the authority name

Buyer type
  • Education & universities 22% (88 notices)
  • Local authorities 21% (83 notices)
  • Central government 19% (74 notices)
  • Other public bodies 9% (34 notices)
  • Police, fire & emergency 7% (27 notices)
  • Not classified 22% (88 notices)
Contracting authorityTypeNoticesLast 12 monthsOpen now
The Sustainable Catering Consultancynot classified1100
Home OfficeCentral government940
Procurement for Schools LtdEducation & universities800
NI Assemblynot classified500
Cardiff CouncilLocal authorities400
ESPOnot classified410
National Highways LimitedCentral government311
The Minister for the Cabinet Office acting through Crown Commercial ServiceCentral government311
Aberdeenshire CouncilLocal authorities320
Financial Conduct AuthorityOther public bodies310

293 distinct authorities in total · the ten most active shown.

Where the work is delivered

Delivery regions (ITL1) published on 291 of 404 notices · a notice covering several regions counts in each · competition columns: contracts awarded in the last 36 months, lots delivered in the region

RegionNoticesBids / lotSME winsLocal wins
Greater London70 · 24%342%
East of England53 · 18%64%
South East England44 · 15%273%
South West England41 · 14%383%
Scotland32 · 11%
West Midlands31 · 11%
North West England30 · 10%
East Midlands27 · 9%
North East England24 · 8%
Wales (Cymru)23 · 8%
Northern Ireland21 · 7%
Yorkshire and the Humber20 · 7%

Local wins = the winner’s registered region is the delivery region. Dashes: fewer than ten observations.

How it is bought

Commercial tool, procedure route and threshold as published on the notice, not a legal-regime claim

Commercial tool
  • Contract 89% (360 notices)
  • Framework 7% (29 notices)
  • Dynamic purchasing system 4% (15 notices)
Procedure route
  • Open 44% (177 notices)
  • Route not published 25% (100 notices)
  • Limited / restricted 16% (65 notices)
  • Selective 15% (61 notices)
  • Direct award 0% (1 notices)
Threshold
  • Above threshold 61% (55 notices)
  • Below threshold 39% (35 notices)
Typical tender window33 daysrobust · n=99median, notice to deadline

Competition

Contracts published in the last 36 months (217) · bid counts per lot from award notices · values are net contract awards, framework and DPS ceilings excluded · SME and local status as declared

Bids per lot · n=63
  • 1 bid 13% (8)
  • 2–3 56% (35)
  • 4–6 29% (18)
  • 7 or more 3% (2)
Contract value, net
p25 £435,407median £958,208p75 £3,054,606
interquartile range of 105 awards · p90 £11,664,816
Typical bids per lot3robust · n=52middle half 2–4
Competed78%robust · n=217open or selective route, no direct-award transparency notice
Bids from SMEs45%robust · n=163of bids on lots publishing an SME split
Awards won by SMEs38%robust · n=77single-supplier awards with a declared scale
Won locally56%robust · n=64winner registered in the delivery region
Abandoned6%robust · n=217cancelled, unsuccessful or terminated without an award
Frameworks & DPS: bidders per lot8robust · n=1436 vehicle procedures · admission to a panel, not a contest

Who wins

Single-supplier active awards with a canonical supplier on notices carrying this code · 227 awards to 139 suppliers · the five most frequent winners hold 26% of contract awards in the last 36 months

Where to submit

E-sourcing portals named in the submission address · 110 of 404 notices name one · each portal page explains registration

In-tend Electronic Procurement21 notices · 19% · 3 open
Proactis / ProContract21 notices · 19%
JAGGAER / BravoSolution10 notices · 9% · 1 open
Sell2Wales7 notices · 6% · 1 open
Delta eSourcing6 notices · 5%
myTenders6 notices · 5%

Method

What the numbers on this page are and are not

Which notices count?

Every Find a Tender notice that carries a CPV code starting 5550. A notice with several codes counts in each sector it names. Earliest notice 2021; latest 15 Sept 2026.

Competition figures

From the 36-month lot-grain contest statistics: a lot counts where its own CPV codes (or, for single-class notices, the procedure’s) start 5550. Bids per lot come from the award notice’s bid statistics; “competed” means an open or selective route with no direct-award transparency notice; contract values are net, on single-supplier awards, with framework and DPS ceilings excluded. Frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems are reported separately because their “bids” are admissions to a panel.

Why no total value or month-by-month chart?

Sums of notice estimates repeat framework ceilings and mix net with gross. Monthly volumes per sector are not shown yet: the catalogue’s CPV coverage per notice changed in May 2026 (compiled records carry every lot’s codes), so a curve would show the catalogue, not the market.