Official UK procurement notice
Catering Tender - Blue Coat CofE Academy
Authority: BLUE COAT CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMY (WALSALL) TRUST (Public body)·On behalf of: ACE Advice Limited
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe school wishes to appoint a single catering contractor to provide catering services for it students at Blue Coat CofE Academy, Walsall
- Two-stage procedure: 4 to 6 candidates will be invited to tender.
- How the procedure runs: Interested suppliers will be evaluated against specific criteria and objectives through the following stages. Selection Stage, Invitation to tender Stage (ITT), Presentation stages and reference checking. The evaluation and shortlisting process will be based on the bidders submissions, and suppliers will be shortlisted with the top scoring companies progressing to the next stage. Only those companies selected, will progress to the ITT stage.
CPV: School catering services · School meals
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£1,750,000
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Interested suppliers will be evaluated against specific criteria and objectives through the following stages.
Selection Stage, Invitation to tender Stage (ITT), Presentation stages and reference checking.
The evaluation and shortlisting process will be based on the bidders submissions, and suppliers will be shortlisted with the top scoring companies progressing to the next stage. Only those companies selected, will progress to the ITT stage.
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).
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality: The evaluation of the shortlisting process will be based on the information provided by the bidding companies and scored against criteria stated in the tender documentation. Highest scoring submissions will be invited to the tender stage, and subsequent stages of the process. Only those selected will be invited to the tender stage.
- Price: Tenderers complete and return a financial schedule which is scored against the financial criteria stated in the tender documentation.
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Interested suppliers will be evaluated against specific criteria and objectives through the following stages.
Selection Stage, Invitation to tender Stage (ITT), Presentation stages and reference checking.
The evaluation and shortlisting process will be based on the bidders submissions, and suppliers will be shortlisted with the top scoring companies progressing to the next stage. Only those companies selected, will progress to the ITT stage.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £1,165,602 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How BLUE COAT CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMY (WALSALL) TRUST buys Catering services (CPV 5552), and who usually turns up
BLUE COAT CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMY (WALSALL) TRUST has little published record in this market. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. 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 7% 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.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in West Midlands.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Across this market, 45% 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 bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 108 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 5% 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 bid2%
2–323%
4–660%
7+16%
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 estimate21%
Within ±2%55%
Above estimate24%
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 1589Published estimate£1.8m
This lot is listed as CPV 1589. The table above uses the notice category.
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 bid12%
2–322%
4–660%
7+6%
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 78 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%£1.8m
Estimate£1.8m
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Cater Link LimitedLarge | £157m35 awards in 36m · last 1 month 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=34 |
abm catering limitedLarge | £46m32 awards in 36m · last this month | 34 live · £57m 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=44 |
abm catering limitedLarge | £46m32 awards in 36m · last this month | 34 live · £57m 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=44 |
| £195m62 awards in 36m · last 4 months ago | 38 live · £132m 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=62 | |
| £19m16 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 7 live · £11m 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=12 |
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- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Requests to participate open
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 26 Oct 2026, 17:23 GMT
- Last source update
- 26 Oct 2026, 17:23 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 31 May 2027
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-101260- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0790a2Find a Tender
- How it runs
Interested suppliers will be evaluated against specific criteria and objectives through the following stages.
Selection Stage, Invitation to tender Stage (ITT), Presentation stages and reference checking.
The evaluation and shortlisting process will be based on the bidders submissions, and suppliers will be shortlisted with the top scoring companies progressing to the next stage. Only those companies selected, will progress to the ITT stage.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via portal- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 20 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Tender submission deadline
- 20 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 13 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
- Shortlist
- 4–6 candidates invited to tender
Timeline
26 Oct 2026 → 1 Aug 2027 · 5 dates- Tender notice published17h ago26 Oct 2026, 17:23 GMT
- Today27 Oct 2026
- Clarification questions byin 17 days13 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 24 days20 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 216 days31 May 2027, 23:59 BST
- Contract startsin 277 days1 Aug 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published26 Oct 2026, 17:23 GMTUK4
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
2 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- ACE Advice LimitedProcess contact pointProcuring entityCatering Consultancy
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Bidders express interest to [email protected] and are given access to the stage documents and also to upload their submissions
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender