Find a TenderAwardedContract award notice
Published 15 May 2025, 14:05 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Southport Learning Trust ~ Catering Tender

Official notice

Authority: Southport Learning Trust (Public body)

ServicesCompetitive flexible procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Published estimate£660,000≈ £132k / year · £660,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 29 Aug 2025awarded 22 Oct 2025
Award (standstill) to Aspens Services Limited
Contract term 5 yrsends 1 Apr 2031 · starts 1 Apr 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The 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 published
Lot #1Awarded 5 yrsSMEPublished value£660,000
Contract period: 1 Apr 2026 – 1 Apr 2031 (5 yrs)Value: £660,000 exc. VAT · £660,000 inc. VAT
Eligibility: 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)
  • Quality: 70%
  • Cost: 30%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Cost: Long criteria description
  • Quality: Long criteria description
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, 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)
School catering services
Delivery area
North West (UKD7)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05148b Find a Tender
How it runs

Please see SQ document timetable for further information on this process.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: Litmus TMS
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free
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
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

15 May 2025 → 1 Apr 2026 · 8 dates
  1. Tender notice published
    15 May 2025, 14:05 BST
  2. Clarification questions by
    6 Jun 2025, 13:00 BST
  3. Submission deadline
    29 Aug 2025, 13:00 BST
  4. Award decision expected by365 days ago
    21 Oct 2025, 00:59 BST
  5. Assessment summaries sent365 days ago
    22 Oct 2025, 00:00 BST
  6. Latest notice published219 days ago
    16 Mar 2026, 15:19 GMT
  7. Standstill ends208 days ago
    26 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
  8. Contract starts203 days ago
    1 Apr 2026

Notice history

4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 15 May 2025
  1. Tender notice published
    15 May 2025, 14:05 BST
    UK4
  2. Contract award notice published
    16 Mar 2026, 15:19 GMT
    UK6
  3. Status changed to complete
    16 Mar 2026, 15:19 GMT
  4. Contract signature expected
    27 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
    scheduled

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value (inc. VAT) £6,600,0001 award inc. VAT; no net value published
Bids received 1
Named bidders 1published on the award notice
Awarded toValueDateStatus
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 notice22 Oct 2025standstill to 26 Mar 2026Standstill

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
1final-stage tenders · 4 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

Southport Learning Trust

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PMMP-1647-PZNQ Birkdale High School, Windy Harbour Road, Southport, North West, PR8 3DTContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • Aspens Services LtdAwarded supplierGB-COH: 06561073 International House, 10 Beaufort Court, Admirals Way, London, London, E14 9XLContact 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