Find a TenderAwardedContract award notice
Published 6 Mar 2026, 16:46 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

LSEAT Catering Tender · UK public procurement notice

Official notice

Authority: LSEAT (Charity / VCSE)·On behalf of: Cohesion Consulting Limited

ServicesCompetitive flexible procedureAbove thresholdLight touch regimeAccelerated
Published estimate£5,348,353≈ £1.8m / year · £6,418,023 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 27 Mar 2026awarded 4 Jun 2026
Award (standstill) to APETITO LIMITED, Aspens Services Limited
Contract term 3 yrsends 31 Jul 2029 · up to 31 Jul 2031 with extensions · starts 1 Aug 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

London South East Academies Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust established in 2014. Its family of schools currently include mainstream, special and alternative provision academies located across Bromley, Bexley, Lambeth, Surrey and East Sussex.

The Trust is tendering its catering services with a contract start date of 1st August 2026. The initial term will run for three years, ending on 31st July 2029, with a requirement for termly and annual reviews and a break clause to support both parties should the relationship not prosper. There will be an option to extend for up to two further years (1+1) by mutual agreement, based on qualitative and financial performance.

The contract will be divided into three separate lots and bidders have the opportunity to bid for one, multiple or all lots, depending on their operational capacity and expertise.

  • Lot 1 – Mainstream, Alternative Provision and Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Schools
  • Lot 2 – High-level SEND Provision
  • Lot 3 – Delivered-in hot meal service

The Trust is seeking a professional catering contractor who can deliver an excellent level of service, high-quality food and service enhancements, realistic and achievable sales targets and ongoing support to the Trust’s communities throughout the contract.

The projected turnover for the three-year contract is expected to be circa:

Lot 1 - £4,678,434

Lot 2 - £538,537

Lot 3 - £131,382

The Trust is running this procurement as a Competitive Flexible, Two Stage, Light Touch Regime Tender Process.

To declare your interest in the tender and download contract documents (available free of charge), please register on in-tendhost.co.uk/cohesionconsulting/a… ↗

Once registered, please declare interest in the opportunity to access and download the full document set.

In short, the Trust needs to be convinced that bidders can deliver their promises in full, achieve their sales projections, and meet their service enhancements. If the Trust is not convinced of this, it reserves the right to consider an insourced solution or make no award. Any investment proposals must align with DfE guidelines.

  • How the procedure runs: The process is detailed in the ITT documents.

CPV: School catering services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1AwardedRenewal 3 yrsPublished value£5,348,353
Contract period: 1 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2029 (3 yrs) · up to 31 Jul 2031 with extensionsValue: £5,348,353 exc. VAT · £6,418,023 inc. VAT
Delivery: London, South East
Extensions: The contract can be extended for up to two years based on customer satisfaction, strong financial performance and mutual agreement

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
How bids were scored
Quality: 86%Price: 15%
Published sub-criteria (2)
  • quality: 86%
  • Cost criteria: 15%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Cost criteria: 15
  • quality: 86
What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 15 of 101 points: a 10% discount moves about 1.5 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
Light touch regime
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
6 Mar 2026, 16:46 GMT
Last source update
5 Jun 2026, 13:54 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 15 Apr 2026
Authority reference
CCL_133
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-020620
Accelerated
Light touch contract
Latest notice
Contract award notice (UK6)
Classification (CPV)
School catering services
Delivery area
London (UKI45)South East (UKJ22)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0664ac Find a Tender
Contract terms summary

As per government requirements

How it runs

The process is detailed in the ITT documents.

Review and risk notes
Risks

No risks identified

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: In-tend · Who buys & how to bid on In-tend
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · one account per buying organisation's portal · reCAPTCHA on signup
Requests to participate (first stage)
27 Mar 2026, 13:00 GMT
Submission deadline
27 Mar 2026, 13:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
27 Mar 2026, 13:00 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

6 Mar 2026 → 1 Aug 2026 · 8 dates
  1. Tender notice published230 days ago
    6 Mar 2026, 16:46 GMT
  2. Clarification questions by209 days ago
    27 Mar 2026, 13:00 GMT
  3. Submission deadline209 days ago
    27 Mar 2026, 13:00 GMT
  4. Award decision expected by190 days ago
    15 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
  5. Assessment summaries sent140 days ago
    5 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
  6. Latest notice published139 days ago
    5 Jun 2026, 13:54 BST
  7. Standstill ends127 days ago
    17 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
  8. Contract starts83 days ago
    1 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST

Notice history

5 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 6 Mar 2026
  1. Tender notice published
    6 Mar 2026, 16:46 GMT
    UK4
  2. Contract award notice published
    5 Jun 2026, 13:54 BST
    UK6
  3. Status changed to complete
    5 Jun 2026, 13:54 BST
  4. Procurement method changed
    5 Jun 2026, 13:54 BST
  5. Contract signature expected
    4 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
    scheduled

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £5,492,0921 award exc. VAT
Bids received 2
Named bidders 2published on the award notice
Awarded toValueDateStatus
APETITO LIMITED, Aspens Services Limitedjoint award1 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2029 · up to 31 Jul 2031Extensions: There will be an option to extend for up to two further years (1+1) by mutual agreement, based on qualitative and financial performance.£5,492,0924 Jun 2026standstill to 17 Jun 2026Standstill

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
2final-stage tenders · 3 at stage one00—

Who bid

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

2 public bodies on the notice

LSEAT

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-CHC: 1208278 Rookery Lane, BROMLEY, London, BR2 8HEContact name, email, phone

Other public bodies

  • Cohesion Consulting LimitedProcess contact pointProcuring entityCohesion Consulting are managing the tender process on behalf of the trustGB-COH: 13682273 Tunbridge Wells, South EastContact name, email, phone

Bidders & participating suppliers

2 commercial parties on the notice
  • ApetitoAwarded supplierGB-COH: 00233851 Canal Road, Trowbridge, South West, Ba14 8RJContact email
  • AspensAwarded supplierGB-COH: 06561073 Ground Floor , Teme House, Worcester, West Midlands, WR5 2RYContact email

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender