Official UK procurement notice
Southport Learning Trust ~ Catering Tender
Authority: Southport Learning Trust (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe successful Supplier will be required to provide Catering services for Southport Learning Trust for the following schools:
Birkdale High SchoolWindy Harbour Road, Southport PR8 3DT
Greenbank High School13 Hastings Rd., Southport PR8 2LT
Maghull High School – to join contract September 202643 Gainsborough Avenue, Liverpool L31 7AW
Meols Cop High School4 Bretton Fold, Southport PR8 6JS
Stanley High SchoolFleetwood Rd, Southport PR9 9TF
Kew Woods PrimaryOvington Drive 30, Southport PR8 6JW
Merefield School Westminster Drive, Southport, PR8 2QZ
Range High School – to join contract April 2028Caretakers House Stapleton Road, Formby L37 2YN
The contract will be for three years commencing April 2026 with the option to extend for a further two years
Contract value = £6.6 Million ( 5 years) excluding Range High School
Expressions of interest are welcomed from organisations that can demonstrate experience in providing catering services to schools and who can provide the resource in the area to support the contract.
There will be a small number of staff who are in the local government pension scheme. Admitted body status will therefore be required.
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. The contracting authority intends to select a maximum of six suppliers to advance to the tender stage, based on the six highest scoring supplier responses to the additional questions set out in the Procurement Specific Questionnaire. The deadline for supplier submissions will be 9th June 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.
About The Trust
Southport Learning Trust is an ambitious organisation with its roots in the coastal town of Southport. Each of our schools are unique beacons of aspiration in their communities, our connectivity as a Trust makes us even stronger. The Trust is growing steadily but sensibly and it is expected that additional schools will join the catering contract over the life of the contract.
The Trust’s core values are:
Collaboration – through powerful connectivity we harness the collective excellence of the schools across our Trust to maximise the impact we have on all of our students,
Equity – a commitment to overcoming all barriers ensuring all of our students excel throughout their lives,
Sustainability – taking our responsibilities seriously to consistently be a self-improving system to positively impact the future generations of our communities,
Innovation- through innovative thinking and the agility to respond to opportunities, our school communities will have access to powerful networks.
Our desire is for strong Local Governing Bodies focused whole heartedly on improving the life chances of children supported by an experienced and diverse Trust Board as set out within the parameters of our scheme of delegation. All schools growing into our family of schools are expected to commit to our vision and values and the spirit of collaboration and professional generosity that characterises our Trust.
We are determined to demonstrate that local schools, working together and growing with talented leadership and staff, can create the conditions for all our students, no matter what their starting point, to achieve the combination of skills, qualities, qualifications and aptitudes that will enable them to thrive in a complex world.
We are growing as a Well School Trust ensuring we have a commitment to support the wellbeing of all members of our community.
- How the procedure runs: Please see SQ document timetable for further information on this process.
CPV: School catering services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedPublished value£660,000
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: 70%
- Cost: 30%
Published award criteria (2)
- Cost: Long criteria description
- Quality: Long criteria description
- 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, CPTPP)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 15 May 2025, 14:05 BST
- Last source update
- 16 Mar 2026, 15:19 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 21 Oct 2025
- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-021771- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05148bFind a Tender
- How it runs
Please see SQ document timetable for further information on this process.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 29 Aug 2025, 13:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 6 Jun 2025, 13:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
15 May 2025 → 1 Apr 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published15 May 2025, 14:05 BST
- Clarification questions by6 Jun 2025, 13:00 BST
- Submission deadline29 Aug 2025, 13:00 BST
- Award decision expected by365 days ago21 Oct 2025, 00:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent365 days ago22 Oct 2025, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published219 days ago16 Mar 2026, 15:19 GMT
- Standstill ends208 days ago26 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts203 days ago1 Apr 2026
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 15 May 2025- Tender notice published15 May 2025, 14:05 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published16 Mar 2026, 15:19 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete16 Mar 2026, 15:19 GMT
- Contract signature expected27 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspens Services Limited1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2031 | £6,600,000 inc. VATten times the procedure’s published value or more · possibly a unit error, check the notice | 22 Oct 2025standstill to 26 Mar 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1final-stage tenders · 4 at stage one | 0 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- wonAspens Services Ltd · Greater London
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
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Aspens Services LtdAwarded supplier
Official 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