Official UK procurement notice
GLF Schools Catering Contract
Authority: GLF SCHOOLS (Education)·On behalf of: ACE Advice Limited
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThe Trust serves over 19,000 young people aged 2 to 19 in a diverse array of settings, with around 2,500 employees. Our schools are in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex and the London Boroughs of Wandsworth and Croydon.
The Trust is seeking experienced caterers to provide high quality school catering services across the Trust, currently there are 8 secondary schools and 35 primary schools. It is anticipated the majority of the schools will be in scope, however the final number of schools will be defined later in the process.
It is expected the contract will be divided into Lots, with bidders given the opportunity to apply for some or all of the various Lots.
- How the procedure runs: This catering tender is a two step process. The first stage is to find a minimum of four per lot of suitably qualified suppliers from the wider contract catering market, and then invite shortlisted suppliers to a second stage. The second stage will be used to select the Most Advantageous Tender response. The second stage will include the submission of a financial offer and a written response. These submissions will be moderated, with successful bidders being invited to a presentation. Further moderation of the bids will be undertaken by the Trust, which will include obtaining satisfactory references of the preferred bidders. The scope of the tender may develop over the contractual period, as additional schools may join the Trust, these schools will join the contract, when their previous contracts allow.
CPV: School catering services
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · all with a published value (£30,000,000 together) · same conditions of participation on every lot · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1West & CentralAwardedRenewal South EastPublished value£20,000,000
The source published no individual description for this lot.
- Economic & financial standing
The Trust requires organisations of scale to operate their catering services contracts.
The minimum annual turnover for a bidder shall be £50m per annum
- Technical & professional ability
The Trust has minimum insurance requirements of £10m EL and £10m PL
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Price and Quality will be the two criteria (Social value responses will be evaluated as part of the Quality assessment)
Lot #2East & SouthAwardedRenewal London, South EastPublished value£10,000,000
The source published no individual description for this lot.
- Economic & financial standing
The Trust requires organisations of scale to operate their catering services contracts.
The minimum annual turnover for a bidder shall be £50m per annum
- Technical & professional ability
The Trust has minimum insurance requirements of £10m EL and £10m PL
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Price and Quality will be the two criteria (Social value responses will be evaluated as part of the Quality assessment)
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)
- Price
- Quality: Quality will be assessed through a combination of the written response, presentation, and references provided by bidders. Moderation will be applied across all these areas to ensure consistency and fairness in evaluation, with each element contributing to the overall quality score.
- Economic & financial standing
The Trust requires organisations of scale to operate their catering services contracts.
The minimum annual turnover for a bidder shall be £50m per annum
- Technical & professional ability
The Trust has minimum insurance requirements of £10m EL and £10m PL
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Price and Quality will be the two criteria (Social value responses will be evaluated as part of the Quality assessment)
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
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
- Awarded
- 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
- 25 Nov 2025, 17:22 GMT
- Last source update
- 1 May 2026, 17:39 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 25 May 2026
- Authority reference
2025/S 000-077039- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-077039- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e8bbFind a Tender
- How it runs
This catering tender is a two step process. The first stage is to find a minimum of four per lot of suitably qualified suppliers from the wider contract catering market, and then invite shortlisted suppliers to a second stage.
The second stage will be used to select the Most Advantageous Tender response. The second stage will include the submission of a financial offer and a written response.
These submissions will be moderated, with successful bidders being invited to a presentation. Further moderation of the bids will be undertaken by the Trust, which will include obtaining satisfactory references of the preferred bidders.
The scope of the tender may develop over the contractual period, as additional schools may join the Trust, these schools will join the contract, when their previous contracts allow.
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 12 Dec 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadline
- 12 Dec 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
25 Nov 2025 → 1 Aug 2026 · 7 dates- Tender notice published330 days ago25 Nov 2025, 17:22 GMT
- Submission deadline313 days ago12 Dec 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent174 days ago1 May 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published173 days ago1 May 2026, 17:39 BST
- Standstill ends160 days ago14 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Award decision expected by149 days ago25 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts82 days ago1 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 25 Nov 2025- Tender notice published25 Nov 2025, 17:22 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published1 May 2026, 17:39 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete1 May 2026, 17:39 BST
- Contract signature expected31 Jul 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · West & Central1 award | |||
| Aspens Services LimitedBanstead Community Junior School Catering1 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2029 · up to 31 Jul 2031Extensions: Two Twelve month extensions are available subject to all parties agreement in writing | £430,000 inc. VAT | 1 May 2026standstill to 14 May 2026 | Standstill |
| Across several lots1 award | |||
| Aspens Services Limited1 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2029 · up to 31 Jul 2031Extensions: Two twelve month extensions are available, subject to agreement in writing by all parties · Options: In the event of additional schools joining the Trust over the life of this agreement they may be added to this contract | £44,000,000 inc. VAT | 1 May 2026standstill to 14 May 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · West & Central | 5final-stage tenders · 6 at stage one | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 · East & South | 5final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- wonASPENS-SERVICES LIMITED · Greater London · all lots
- did not winCOMPASS CONTRACT SERVICES (U.K.) LIMITED · West Midlands · all lots
- did not winCATER LINK LIMITED · South East England · all lots
- did not winIMPACT FOOD GROUP LIMITED · South East England · all lots
- did not winTAYLOR SHAW LIMITED · North West England · all lots
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
4 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- ACE Advice LimitedBeneficiary authority
- ACE ADVICE LTDProcess contact pointProcuring entityProcurement support
- Banstead Community Junior SchoolContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government
Bidders & participating suppliers
5 commercial parties on the notice · 1 awarded- ASPENS-SERVICES LIMITEDAwarded supplier
- CATER LINK LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- COMPASS CONTRACT SERVICES (U.K.) LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- IMPACT FOOD GROUP LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- TAYLOR SHAW LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Please express interest by contacting [email protected] or 07833 265675
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender