Official UK procurement notice
Ignite Learning Partnership Tender for Catering Contract
Authority: Ignite Learning Partnership (Public body)
Ignite Learning Partnership, comprising 5 primary schools in the West Midlands, are seeking a contractor to provide catering services at their schools in the Wolverhampton area. The contract will be awarded for a period of 3 years commencing 1st September 2027 with an option to extend for a further one plus one years, which will be measured on the achievement of agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s), from Day One of the contract.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionIgnite Learning Partnership, comprising 5 primary schools in the West Midlands, are seeking a contractor to provide catering services at their schools in the Wolverhampton area.
The contract will be awarded for a period of 3 years commencing 1st September 2027 with an option to extend for a further one plus one years, which will be measured on the achievement of agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s), from Day One of the contract.
The Trust is seeking a partnership to continue to maximise the opportunity of the catering facilities and to further enhance the dining experience for both staff and students.
- How the procedure runs: STAGE ONE Advertisement published By 13th November 2026 PSQ made available to Potential Providers By 13th November 2026 STAGE TWO Deadline for return of PSQ to the Client 10am, 14th December 2026 Unsuccessful and successful PSQ notices issued By 11th January 2027 tbc STAGE THREE Notify tenderers of shortlist to be invited to tender By 11th January 2027 tbc ITT issued to shortlisted Potential Providers By 11th January 2027 tbc Date for Site Visits Thursday 28th January 2027 Details of tenderers attendees to site visit required by: By Monday 25th January 2027 STAGE FOUR ITT clarification period closes 12th February 2027 Deadline for return of ITT By 10am, Friday 26th February 2027 STAGE FIVE Contract Clarification meeting 23rd March 2027 STAGE SIX Notification of contract award by 26th March 2027 End of standstill period and contract award Tbc Service commencement 1st September 2027
CPV: School catering services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£1,453,545
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 sub-criteria (6)
- Food Quality & Variety of Healthy Meal Choices: 20%
- Relationship Management And Support: 15%
- Clarification Meeting: 10%
- Customer Experience And Innovation: 15%
- Price: 30%
- Corporate, Social Responsibility & Added Value: 10%
Published award criteria (6)
- Price
- Corporate, Social Responsibility & Added Value
- Food Quality & Variety of Healthy Meal Choices
- Relationship Management And Support
- Clarification Meeting
- Customer Experience And Innovation
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- 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 £968,146 (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 Ignite Learning Partnership buys Catering services (CPV 5552), and who usually turns up
Ignite Learning Partnership 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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
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.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address in the region where that award was delivered.
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 70 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.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
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 bid14%
2–331%
4–650%
7+5%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Awards below, close to or above the estimate, per lot. The buyer side adds below-threshold contracts with a pre-award estimate; an award inside a published range counts as close.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate17%
Within ±2%44%
Above estimate39%
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£1.5m
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 bid16%
2–334%
4–645%
7+4%
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%£1.5m–£1.6m
Estimate£1.5m
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shire Services (Shropshire Council Food Enterprise Centre)Earlier contract | ignite Learning Partnership Contract for Catering Servicesnotice published Jun 2023 | — | £493k | Matched as the earlier contract |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| £3.5m1 award in 36m · last 17 months ago | 1 live · £3.5m 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=3 | |
| £194m64 awards in 36m · last 1 month 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=64 | |
OCS Group UK LimitedLarge | £327m31 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 11 live · £348m 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. | 3% below n=11 |
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 |
| £34m11 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 6 live · £24m 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. | 30% above n=12 |
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender and Contracts Finder), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly. Contracts Finder appears in live search, the Retender Radar, contract pages, organisation counts, the earlier contracts and past suppliers on a tender's competition panel, the buyer's decision figure and its award against estimate; the other analytical figures are built from Find a Tender notices.
- 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.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
75% title match.
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.
75% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (75% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
ignite Learning Partnership Contract for Catering Services — held by Shire Services (Shropshire Council Food Enterprise Centre); no contract end date published.
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
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- 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
- 10 Nov 2026, 14:30 GMT
- Last source update
- 10 Nov 2026, 14:30 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 1 Sept 2027
- Authority reference
CA18662- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-106717- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07b8adFind a Tender
- How it runs
STAGE ONE
Advertisement published By 13th November 2026
PSQ made available to Potential Providers By 13th November 2026
STAGE TWO
Deadline for return of PSQ to the Client 10am, 14th December 2026
Unsuccessful and successful PSQ notices issued By 11th January 2027 tbc
STAGE THREE
Notify tenderers of shortlist to be invited to tender By 11th January 2027 tbc
ITT issued to shortlisted Potential Providers By 11th January 2027 tbc
Date for Site Visits Thursday 28th January 2027
Details of tenderers attendees to site visit required by: By Monday 25th January 2027
STAGE FOUR
ITT clarification period closes 12th February 2027
Deadline for return of ITT By 10am, Friday 26th February 2027
STAGE FIVE
Contract Clarification meeting 23rd March 2027
STAGE SIX
Notification of contract award by 26th March 2027
End of standstill period and contract award Tbc
Service commencement 1st September 2027
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via MultiQuote- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 14 Dec 2026, 10:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 5 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
To access this opportunity, log in to suppliers.multiquote.com ↗ and view the opportunity. If you are not registered with MultiQuote, please visit suppliers.multiquote.com ↗, complete the registration form on the log in page and quote the title and reference of the notice in your registration.
Timeline
10 Nov 2026 → 1 Sept 2027 · 5 dates- Tender notice publishedjust passed10 Nov 2026, 14:30 GMT
- Today10 Nov 2026
- Clarification questions byin 24 days5 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 33 days14 Dec 2026, 10:00 GMT
- Contract startsin 294 days1 Sept 2027, 00:00 BST
- Award decision expected byin 295 days1 Sept 2027, 23:59 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published10 Nov 2026, 14:30 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
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender