Catering services: UK Tenders, Buyers & Competition
CPV 55520000·Services · class·in Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services
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Tenders you can still bid for.
Notices at tender stage whose deadline has not passed, counted the way the search counts them: a notice shows under every code and region it names.
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Notices published in the last 12 months.
Counted per tender, not per lot, against the 12 months before where shown.
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How many companies usually bid for a lot here.
The middle value of the bid counts that award notices publish, one per lot. Only real competitions count: direct awards and framework places are left out.
Based on 387 lots from 325 competitions run by 313 buyers, last 36 months. A buyer with many similar contests counts only up to a limit. 223 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 3) and 164 from older notices (bids received, middle 4).
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What a contract here is usually worth.
Middle value of published award values, VAT excluded. Framework ceilings are left out because they are not real contract values.
Based on 408 awards with a usable value, last 36 months.
Published values, not actual spend.
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How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Based on 192 decided competitions, last 36 months.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Newest open tenders
3 of 43 open for bids now · newest first
| Notice | Authority | Deadline | Days left | Published value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orbital South Colleges Catering Services: East Surrey College & John Ruskin College | East Surrey College | 27 Nov 2026 | 24d | £1,900,000 |
| Meals on Wheels | Tower Hamlets | 2 Dec 2026 | 29d | £3,000,000 |
| Anglian Learning - Catering Tender | Anglian Learning | 27 Nov 2026 | 24d | £18,650,000 |
Codes and neighbouring classes
The 8-digit CPV codes notices in this class actually use, and the other classes of the same division
55524000 School catering services1,231 notices · 70%55520000 Catering services469 notices · 27%55523100 School-meal services36 notices · 2%55521200 Meal delivery service16 notices · 1%55521100 Meals-on-wheels services13 notices · 1%55522000 Catering services for transport enterprises8 notices · <1%55521000 Catering services for private households5 notices · <1%- Canteen and catering services 50 · 12m
- Hotel meeting and conference services 38 · 12m
- Hotel accommodation services 30 · 12m
- Holiday centre and holiday home services 26 · 12m
- Retail trade services 16 · 12m
- Hotel services 16 · 12m
- Restaurant and food-serving services 15 · 12m
- Cafeteria services 10 · 12m
- Letting services of short-stay furnished accommodation 8 · 12m
- Services provided by bed and breakfast establishments 5 · 12m
- All of Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services →
Who buysi
Which buyers publish the most notices here.
Buyers ranked by the number of notices, duplicate names merged.
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Which buyers publish the most notices here.
Buyers ranked by the number of notices, duplicate names merged.
All notices carrying this code · official UK_CA_TYPE where published (NHS bodies are central government authorities), else derived from the authority name
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What kinds of public bodies buy here.
Notices by the buyer’s type as published, otherwise by its name.
Education & universities43%(759 notices)
759 of 1,747 notices are Education & universities (43%).Other public bodies17%(294 notices)
294 of 1,747 notices are Other public bodies (17%).Local authorities11%(195 notices)
195 of 1,747 notices are Local authorities (11%).Central government6%(106 notices)
106 of 1,747 notices are Central government (6%).Police, fire & emergency1%(22 notices)
22 of 1,747 notices are Police, fire & emergency (1%).Not classified21%(371 notices)
371 of 1,747 notices are Not classified (21%).
| Contracting authority | Type | Notices | Last 12 months | Open now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | Central government | 31 | 17 | 0 |
| Educo | Other public bodies | 29 | 13 | 5 |
| ACE Advice Limited | not classified | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| RED BOX CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITED | not classified | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| RPJ3 Group | Other public bodies | 17 | 11 | 0 |
| The Royal Parks | Other public bodies | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Procurement for Schools Ltd | Education & universities | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| The Sustainable Catering Consultancy | not classified | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council | Local authorities | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| GY5 Limited | not classified | 9 | 0 | 0 |
1,279 distinct authorities in total · the ten most active shown.
Where the work is deliveredi
Where the work on these notices is delivered.
Delivery regions published on the notices. A notice with several regions counts in each.
Where the work is, not where the buyer is based.
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Where the work on these notices is delivered.
Delivery regions published on the notices. A notice with several regions counts in each.
Where the work is, not where the buyer is based.
Delivery regions (ITL1) published on 1,589 of 1,764 notices · a notice covering several regions counts in each · competition columns: contracts awarded in the last 36 months, lots delivered in the region
| Region | Notices | Bids / lot | SME wins | Local wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater London | 3 | 23% | 31% | |
| South East England | 4 | 20% | 56% | |
| West Midlands | 5 | 7% | 46% | |
| East of England | 4 | 20% | 20% | |
| South West England | 4 | 17% | 20% | |
| North West England | 4 | 22% | 32% | |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 4 | 18% | 8% | |
| East Midlands | 3 | 29% | 19% | |
| North East England | 5 | 38% | 22% | |
| Wales (Cymru) | 3 | — | 47% | |
| Scotland | — | — | — | |
| Northern Ireland | — | 80% | — |
Local wins = the winner’s registered region is the delivery region. Dashes: fewer than ten observations.
How it is boughti
How work here is packaged.
Notices by commercial tool: a single contract, a framework, or a dynamic purchasing system.
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How work here is packaged.
Notices by commercial tool: a single contract, a framework, or a dynamic purchasing system.
Commercial tool, procedure route and threshold as published on the notice, not a legal-regime claim
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How work here is packaged.
Notices by commercial tool: a single contract, a framework, or a dynamic purchasing system.
Contract91%(1,599 notices)
1,599 of 1,764 notices are Contract (91%).Framework7%(118 notices)
118 of 1,764 notices are Framework (7%).Dynamic purchasing system3%(47 notices)
47 of 1,764 notices are Dynamic purchasing system (3%).
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Which procedures buyers here use.
Notices by the procedure they declare: open, selective, limited or direct. Open and selective are competitions; limited and direct are not.
Selective50%(877 notices)
877 of 1,764 notices are Selective (50%).Open36%(633 notices)
633 of 1,764 notices are Open (36%).Route not published9%(150 notices)
150 of 1,764 notices are Route not published (9%).Limited / restricted4%(73 notices)
73 of 1,764 notices are Limited / restricted (4%).Direct award2%(31 notices)
31 of 1,764 notices are Direct award (2%).
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How much of this market is above the legal threshold.
Notices by whether the buyer marked them above or below the threshold that triggers the full rules.
Above threshold84%(372 notices)
372 of 442 notices are Above threshold (84%).Below threshold16%(70 notices)
70 of 442 notices are Below threshold (16%).
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How long bidders get to respond.
Middle value in days from the tender notice to its deadline.
Competition
Contracts published in the last 36 months (818) · bid counts per lot from award notices · values are net contract awards, framework and DPS ceilings excluded · SME and local status as declared
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How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid13%(52)
52 of 387 lots fall in 1 bid (13%).2–332%(122)
122 of 387 lots fall in 2–3 (32%).4–650%(192)
192 of 387 lots fall in 4–6 (50%).7 or more5%(21)
21 of 387 lots fall in 7 or more (5%).
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The usual range of contract values here.
The middle half of published award values, VAT excluded, with the middle value marked. Framework ceilings are left out.
Published values, not actual spend.
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How many companies usually bid for a lot here.
The middle value of the bid counts that award notices publish, one per lot. Only real competitions count: direct awards and framework places are left out.
Based on 387 lots from 325 competitions run by 313 buyers, last 36 months. A buyer with many similar contests counts only up to a limit. 223 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 3) and 164 from older notices (bids received, middle 4).
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How much of this market is actually put out to competition.
Notices run as an open or selective procedure, out of all notices that say which procedure was used. Direct awards count as not competed.
709 of 798 notices that state a procedure, last 36 months. 20 more give no procedure and are left out.
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What share of bids come from small and medium firms.
SME bids divided by all bids, on lots where the buyer published the split.
364 SME bids out of 1,059, on 295 lots where the buyer published the split.
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What share of contracts go to small and medium firms.
Awards to a single supplier that declared its size. SME divided by all.
71 of 334 awards where the winner declared its size.
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How much work here goes to companies based in the region.
Contract awards where the winner’s registered address is in this region, out of awards where the address is known.
Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.
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Do winners come in above or below the buyer’s estimate.
For each lot we compare the published estimate with the award, like for like. Below means the winner was paid less than estimated, above means more.
Based on 274 lots with both an estimate and an award, last 36 months.
A past pattern, not a price to bid.
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How often a tender ends with no award.
Notices cancelled, withdrawn or marked unsuccessful, plus terminated ones that never got an award.
28 of 818 notices, last 36 months.
Only what buyers published. Tenders that quietly went nowhere are not counted.
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How many companies apply to get onto a framework or DPS here.
Middle value per lot, frameworks and dynamic markets only. Getting onto a panel is not the same as winning work, so it is kept separate.
Based on 99 lots from 50 framework and DPS notices, last 36 months.
Who winsi
Which suppliers win the most here.
Suppliers ranked by the number of tenders won, not by money. A supplier on one big framework with many call-offs does not outrank one that won many separate competitions.
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Which suppliers win the most here.
Suppliers ranked by the number of tenders won, not by money. A supplier on one big framework with many call-offs does not outrank one that won many separate competitions.
Ranked by distinct procedures won on notices carrying this code, then award records · 1,240 awards to 381 suppliers · the five most frequent winners hold 33% of contract awards in the last 36 months
| Supplier | Procedures | Awards | Last 12 months | Buyers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aspens Services Limited | 96 | 105 | 19 | 93 |
| abm catering limited | 54 | 56 | 9 | 53 |
| Innovate Services | 51 | 61 | 16 | 49 |
| Cater Link Limited | 49 | 58 | 14 | 49 |
| Olive Dining | 38 | 62 | 27 | 28 |
| Compass Contract Services (UK) Ltd | 37 | 48 | 26 | 36 |
| Caterlink | 29 | 32 | 3 | 27 |
| Mellors Catering Services | 27 | 33 | 8 | 24 |
Where to submiti
Where bids for this work are submitted.
Notices by the portal in their submission link, where one is published.
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Where bids for this work are submitted.
Notices by the portal in their submission link, where one is published.
E-sourcing portals named in the submission address · 571 of 1,764 notices name one · each portal page explains registration
Open tenders in catering services
43 open for bids now · soonest deadline first
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- What counts here. Every notice with a CPV code starting 5552. A notice with several codes counts in each sector it names. Notices from 2021 to 2 Nov 2026.
- Competition. Bids and winners cover the last three years and count each lot as its own contest; frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems are shown apart from ordinary contracts.
- Why no total spend. Notice estimates often repeat a framework’s ceiling, so adding them up would overstate the market. Typical contract values are shown instead.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.