Official UK procurement notice
Catering Services · UK public procurement notice
Authority: CONNECT ACADEMY TRUST (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Trust invites expressions of interest from suitably qualified catering providers for the provision of school catering services across nine schools within the Trust (based in Plymouth, Torquay and Newton Abbott).
Current value of contract is £850,000.
The contract will include:
- Daily pupil meal provision
- Free School Meal provision
- Hospitality services
- Nutritional compliance
- Sustainability objectives
- Social value commitments
The procurement will be conducted under the Competitive Flexible Procedure in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.
Interested suppliers must demonstrate:
- Relevant education sector experience
- Financial stability
- Appropriate insurances
- Safeguarding compliance
- Food safety management systems
- TUPE experience
The estimated contract commencement date is 1 April 2027.
CPV: Catering services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£850,000
What it takes to wini
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 morei
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).
Lot awarding rule: Service Quality 30% Assess: -Menu quality -Pupil engagement -FSM strategy -Staffing model -Customer service -Allergy management Commercial Proposal 25% Mobilisation & TUPE 10% Assess: - TUPE management - Staff training - Parent communications - Implementation planning Social Value 15% Assess: - Local employment - Apprenticeships - Community engagement - Educational activities Sustainability 15% Assess: - Food miles - Carbon reduction - Food waste reduction - Packaging Innovation & Added Value 5%
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £566,150 (twice the annual value).
Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
Catering services (CPV 5552) in South West England, and who usually turns up
CONNECT ACADEMY TRUST has too little published record in this market to describe on its own. Published market evidence for the same work stands beside whatever it has. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Catering services (CPV 5552) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
Across this market, small firms won 19% of awards with a known supplier size.
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 South West England (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Across this market, 20% of winners were registered in the delivery region.
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.
Half of these awards were announced within 66 days of the bid deadline.
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.
Across this market, at least 16% of awarded procurements had no recorded rival.
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.
1 bid12%
2–329%
4–652%
7+8%
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.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate28%
Within ±2%47%
Above estimate25%
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.
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 5552Published estimate£850k
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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid13%
2–336%
4–645%
7+7%
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.
Based on 34 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£813k–£854k
Estimate£850k
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.
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.
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £441m50 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 25 live · £345m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=34 | |
| £201m67 awards in 36m · last this month | 37 live · £128m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=61 | |
| £162m42 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | 20 live · £74m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=33 | |
| £164m16 awards in 36m · last 5 months ago | 9 live · £25m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=14 | |
TAYLOR SHAW LIMITEDLarge | £11m10 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 2 live · £3.1m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 21% above n=9 |
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 match score 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- Procedure method
- Below threshold - open competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 14 Oct 2026, 12:57 BST
- Last source update
- 14 Oct 2026, 12:57 BST
- Authority reference
CONNECT2026-1- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-096984- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078782Find a Tender
- Reserved participation area
- K02000001
How to participate & submission route
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 16 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 2 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Electronic submission
- Not allowed
Timeline
14 Oct 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 4 dates- Tender notice published1 day ago14 Oct 2026, 12:57 BST
- Today15 Oct 2026
- Clarification questions byin 19 days2 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 33 days16 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 168 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published14 Oct 2026, 12:57 BSTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender