Official UK procurement notice
LSEAT Catering Tender · UK public procurement notice
Authority: LSEAT (Charity / VCSE)·On behalf of: Cohesion Consulting Limited
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionLondon 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 publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£5,348,353
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 (2)
- quality: 86%
- Cost criteria: 15%
Published award criteria (2)
- Cost criteria: 15
- quality: 86
- 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)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0664acFind a Tender- Contract terms summary
As per government requirements
- How it runs
The process is detailed in the ITT documents.
- Risks
No risks identified
How it was run
Official notice- 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
Timeline
6 Mar 2026 → 1 Aug 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published230 days ago6 Mar 2026, 16:46 GMT
- Clarification questions by209 days ago27 Mar 2026, 13:00 GMT
- Submission deadline209 days ago27 Mar 2026, 13:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by190 days ago15 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent140 days ago5 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published139 days ago5 Jun 2026, 13:54 BST
- Standstill ends127 days ago17 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts83 days ago1 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
5 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 6 Mar 2026- Tender notice published6 Mar 2026, 16:46 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published5 Jun 2026, 13:54 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete5 Jun 2026, 13:54 BST
- Procurement method changed5 Jun 2026, 13:54 BST
- Contract signature expected4 Jul 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | £5,492,092 | 4 Jun 2026standstill to 17 Jun 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2final-stage tenders · 3 at stage one | 0 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- Cohesion Consulting LimitedProcess contact pointProcuring entityCohesion Consulting are managing the tender process on behalf of the trust
Bidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the noticeOfficial documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender