Find a TenderAwardedContract award notice
Published 30 Jun 2025, 16:06 BST

Official UK procurement notice

South Cumbria Multi Academy Trust~ Catering Tender

Official notice

Authority: South Cumbria Multi Academy Trust~ Catering Tender (Public body)

ServicesCompetitive flexible procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Published estimate£2,286,000≈ £572k / year · £2,286,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 7 Nov 2025awarded 17 Dec 2025
Award (standstill) to CaterLink Limited (Trading as Caterlink)
Contract term 4 yrsends 28 Feb 2030 · starts 1 Mar 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The successful Supplier will be required to provide Catering services for South Cumbria Multi Academy Trust.

This procurement is being conducted under a competitive flexible procedure in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.

Participation Stage - suppliers must meet the conditions of participation set out in this Tender Notice to advance to the tender stage of the competition and also submit a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement. Selection will be based on the criteria set out in the tender documents and will be applied in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner. The contracting authority intends to select a maximum of five suppliers to advance to the tender stage, based on the five highest scoring supplier responses to the technical and professional ability and additional questions set out in the Procurement Specific Questionnaire. Suppliers must meet the minimum conditions of participation in order to progress to the tender stage. The deadline for supplier submissions will be 8th August 2025.

The intention would be that the 3 highest scoring companies from the tender stage will advance to presentation stage. Suppliers will not be selected to present if they would not be able to achieve an overall higher score than the top bidder if the former scored maximum marks and the latter scored no marks in the presentations.

Please note there will be some employees in the local government pension scheme, therefore Admitted Body Status will be expected.

Contract value = £2,286,000 (five years)

Contract term = three years with the option to extend for a further two years

The schools who will be participating in the tender will be:

  • South Walney Juniors
  • Cambridge Street Primary
  • Newbarns Primary and Nursery
  • Ormsgill School
  • Chetwynde School

Please see PSQ Document for more information

  • How the procedure runs: Please see SQ Document for more information.

CPV: School catering services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Awarded 4 yrsSMEPublished value£2,286,000
Contract period: 1 Mar 2026 – 28 Feb 2030 (4 yrs)Value: £2,286,000 exc. VAT · £2,286,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: North WestEligibility: SME eligible

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: 70%Price: 30%
Published sub-criteria (2)
  • Criterion 1: 70%
  • Criterion 2: 30%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Criterion 1
  • Criterion 2
What this means for your bid
  • 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
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
30 Jun 2025, 16:06 BST
Last source update
16 Apr 2026, 14:50 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 22 Dec 2025
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-036208
Latest notice
Contract award notice (UK6)
Classification (CPV)
School catering services
Delivery area
North West (UKD1)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05562a Find a Tender
How it runs

Please see SQ Document for more information.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: Litmus TMS
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free
Submission deadline
7 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
8 Aug 2025, 12:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

30 Jun 2025 → 27 Apr 2026 · 8 dates
  1. Tender notice published
    30 Jun 2025, 16:06 BST
  2. Clarification questions by
    8 Aug 2025, 12:00 BST
  3. Submission deadline349 days ago
    7 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
  4. Assessment summaries sent310 days ago
    17 Dec 2025
  5. Award decision expected by304 days ago
    22 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
  6. Contract starts236 days ago
    1 Mar 2026
  7. Latest notice published189 days ago
    16 Apr 2026, 14:50 BST
  8. Standstill ends178 days ago
    27 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST

Notice history

4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 30 Jun 2025
  1. Tender notice published
    30 Jun 2025, 16:06 BST
    UK4
  2. Contract award notice published
    16 Apr 2026, 14:50 BST
    UK6
  3. Status changed to complete
    16 Apr 2026, 14:50 BST
  4. Contract signature expected
    28 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
    scheduled

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £2,286,0001 award exc. VAT
Bids received 2
Awarded toValueDateStatus
CaterLink Limited (Trading as Caterlink)29 Apr 2026 – 28 Feb 2030£2,286,00017 Dec 2025standstill to 27 Apr 2026Standstill

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
2final-stage tenders00—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

South Cumbria Multi Academy Trust~ Catering Tender

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PCVQ-7353-TBLL Chetwynde School, Croslands, Rating Lane, Barrow-in-Furness, North West, LA13 0NYContact name, email, phone

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • Cater Link LtdAwarded supplierGB-COH: 03732298 Earley West, 300 Thames Valley Park Drive, Reading, South East, RG6 1PTContact name, email, phone

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