Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 28 Apr 2026, 12:02 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Catering Outsourced Services Retender

Authority: LUPC Ltd (Public body)

Framework agreementServicesAbove thresholdSME suitable
Planned pipeline value£0pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 1 Oct 2026from the planned procurement notice
Framework period 2 yrsends 4 May 2029 · up to 4 May 2031 with extensions · starts 5 May 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

LUPC is working with its Member Institutions and those of the other UKUPCs to re-establish a national Framework Agreement for the Provision of Catering Outsourced Services across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Member Institutions of all UKUPCs will be able to use this Framework Agreement. Our Members operate a variety of catering services throughout their institutions ranging from cafés and refectories to internal hospitality and corporate events. The Consortia is inviting feedback from suitably qualified and experienced providers for the provision of these services to Member Institutions under a framework agreement that will run initially for two years, with two one year extensions up to a maximum period of four years, subject to satisfactory performance. The Consortia’s objective is to ensure that it receives quality catering outsourced services for its Members and it will work closely with the chosen Providers throughout the term of the agreement to achieve greater value for money for Members. The resulting Framework Agreement will allow qualifying Providers to supply the Consortia Members with the services identified in the Invitation to Tender, at the agreed prices and terms and for the duration of the Framework term. Member Institutions will engage firms by issuing individual call-off instructions as and when required. Please complete the questionnaire located here: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/ngF9mAbKyD ↗ LUPC will collate responses and may reach out to interested parties to engage in further PME processes. Please note: We have not added a value to this project yet. Value will become clearer nearer to tender stage.

CPV: Canteen and catering services

How this framework works

From the published notice
Framework period
2 yrs · up to 4 yrs from 5 May 2027

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 2 yrsSME
Contract period: 5 May 2027 – 4 May 2029 (2 yrs) · up to 4 May 2031 with extensions
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: Extension options published

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more
What this means for your bid
  • “Catering Outsourced Services Retender” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How LUPC Ltd buys Canteen and catering services (CPV 5550), and who usually turns up

LUPC Ltd’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Canteen and catering services (CPV 5550) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerLUPC Ltd · all categories
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
i

How often small and medium firms win.

Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.

The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 0 of 1 known-size awards · market: division 55 · Greater London, n=32
0 of 156%

No small-firm winners recorded among this authority’s published awards in this sample.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

How often local firms win similar work.

Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.

Here, local means registered in Greater London.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 0 of 1 known-location awards · market: division 55 · Greater London, n=44
0 of 148%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside Greater London.

How long to a decision?
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 3 decided notices · market: division 55 · Greater London, n=5
82 days133 days

Half of these awards were announced within 82 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 2 procurements with awards; rival share unknown · market: division 55 · Greater London, n=10
—20%

Awards are recorded, but published direct routes and bid counts do not establish this buyer’s share.

How many bids did past lots attract?

i

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer14 lots with bid counts · all categories
0% had one bid
The market6 lots with bid counts · CPV 5550 · UK-wide
17% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid0% / 17%
Buyer: 0 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 6 lots with published bid counts.
2–314% / 17%
Buyer: 2 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 6 lots with published bid counts.
4–621% / 0%
Buyer: 3 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 0 of 6 lots with published bid counts.
7+64% / 67%
Buyer: 9 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 4 of 6 lots with published bid counts.

How did awards compare with estimates?

i

Where winning prices landed against estimates.

Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.

On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.

2

Assess each lot
i

What past awards tell you about each lot.

See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.

No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 555024 monthsSME suitableNo real estimate
Expected competition
i

How many bids this lot may attract.

The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.

Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 28 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet18% single-bid risk
Past bids on 28 similar lots
1 bid18%
5 of 28 similar past lots received 1 bid (18%).
2–329%
8 of 28 similar past lots received 2–3 (29%).
4–629%
8 of 28 similar past lots received 4–6 (29%).
7+25%
7 of 28 similar past lots received 7+ (25%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 4 bids.
Commercial price forecast
i

Where the award price may land.

The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.

No comparable awards for this lot yet.

A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.

—Priced at call-off
On a framework or DPS the price is agreed on each call-off, so there is no award price to forecast here: the published figure is a ceiling.

Who has supplied this buyer on similar work?
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

A past supplier may not bid again.

No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.

Who could compete for this lot?
i

Who could compete for this lot?

Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.

None is confirmed as a bidder.

Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.

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.
  • Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
  • Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
  • 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.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Framework agreement
Who may use this agreement
Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
28 Apr 2026, 12:02 BST
Last source update
28 Apr 2026, 12:02 BST
Authority reference
CAT5107 LU
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-038485
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Canteen and catering services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-068c8b Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Appointment period ends
—

Timeline

28 Apr 2026 → 5 May 2027 · 4 dates
  1. Planning notice published176 days ago
    28 Apr 2026, 12:02 BST
  2. Market engagement50 days ago
    31 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST

    We are looking for feedback via the link here: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/ngF9mAbKyD ↗

  3. Tender notice expected19 days ago
    1 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
  4. Today
    21 Oct 2026
  5. Contract startsin 196 days
    5 May 2027

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    28 Apr 2026, 12:02 BST
    UK2

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

London Universities Purchasing Consortium

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PNVT-3763-LBZD 5th Floor, Pinnacle House, 23-26 St Dunstan’s Hil, London, London, EC3R 8HNContact name, email, phone

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure