Official UK procurement notice
St Joseph Catholic MAT Framework Catering Tender 2026/27
Authority: RPJ3 Group (Public body)
The St Joseph Catholic MAT are seeking to procure a number of providers for a multi-supplier framework for catering services. The main objective of this procurement exercise is to deliver the procurement of a framework that will enable the Trust to source catering services for its schools. The provision of the service must demonstrate the best value approach and be flexible in its delivery and operation to ensure that the needs and ethos of individual schools are supported. The nature of the contract demands a good local infrastructure to provide and maintain the level and standard of catering services and support required by the Trust. The contract will be for a 3 +1 +1 period (5 years in total including the option to extend for 1 + 1years after the initial 3-year term).
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe St Joseph Catholic MAT are seeking to procure a number of providers for a multi-supplier framework for catering services. The main objective of this procurement exercise is to deliver the procurement of a framework that will enable the Trust to source catering services for its schools.
There is initially one school in this framework, however, other schools may call off later.
It should be noted that it is not mandatory for Trust schools to use this framework. Schools will only call off from this agreement if they have a requirement to do so. It is envisaged the number of contractors on the framework will be between 1 and 3
The provision of the service must demonstrate the best value approach and be flexible in its delivery and operation to ensure that the needs and ethos of individual schools are supported.
This framework process is targeted to have a catering contract in place to commence in April 2027 for the initial direct award school. Please note that this process covers all catering services within the Trust school with full tender costings and proposals for the school for a contract start in in April 2027 for the initial direct award schools. These details will be further explained in the ITT documents. The process will be through a competitive flexible procedure commencing with a participation stage to create a select bidder list following analysis of a PSQ document (within which the scoring criteria will be included). The nature of the contract demands a good local infrastructure to provide and maintain the level and standard of catering services and support required by the Trust. Labour resource/relief cover is very important. We have set a minimum Employer's (compulsory) liability insurance of 10,000,000 GBP). Following the analysis of PSQ’s the selected bidders will be invited to attend site surveys and tender briefing initially planned for late November 2026. Tender response deadline is planned as late December 2026 and it is envisaged that interviews will take place in early January 2027. The contract will be for a 3 +1 +1 period (5 years in total including the option to extend for 1 + 1years after the initial 3-year term).
- Two-stage procedure: 5 to 8 candidates will be invited to tender.
- How the procedure runs: The competitive flexible procedure will commence with a participation stage whereby a PSQ will be completed by interested suppliers. This will be scored and successful suppliers will be invited to submit a full tender. The tender submissions will be analysed and scored and selected suppliers will be invited to final interview/presentation stage. The contracting Authority will then select the successful framework supplier/s and award the contract.
- No preliminary market engagement: Time constraints of the procurement process and to ensure a level playing field so no supplier has an unfair advantage or to distort competition.
CPV: School catering services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Call-offs
- every call-off is a further competition among the appointed suppliers
- Places
- up to 3 suppliers
- Framework period
3 yrs · up to 5 yrs from 1 Apr 2027, The contract is for 3 years with the option to extend for a further 1 +1 years therefore 5 years in total
Published description of the framework
Framework suppliers are selected based on their financial and qualitative submissions and responses to a set brief at the interview/negotiation stage. Any new schools joining the contract will go through a mini tender with the framework bidders ensuring they join on no less favourable terms than the initial schools.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£1,250,000
- Economic & financial standing
As per the PSQ document
- Technical & professional ability
As per the PSQ document
- Condition of participationshortlisting
A Procurement Specific Questionnaire is completed by suppliers with the highest scoring suppliers being invited to tender.
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)
- Qualitative: 50%
- Financial: 50%
Published award criteria (2)
- Qualitative: 12/13 qualitative schedules require responding to
- Financial: 6/7 Financial Schedules require completion
- Economic & financial standing
As per the PSQ document
- Technical & professional ability
As per the PSQ document
- Condition of participationshortlisting
A Procurement Specific Questionnaire is completed by suppliers with the highest scoring suppliers being invited to tender.
- Price carries 50 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 5 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
- “St Joseph Catholic MAT Framework Catering Tender 2026/27” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 3 suppliers, not a single contract: each call-off is a further competition, so the pricing contest starts after appointment.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How RPJ3 Group buys Catering services (CPV 5552), and who usually turns up
RPJ3 Group has little published record in this market. Compared with other frameworks and DPS only. Whole-market view: Catering services (CPV 5552) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Across this market, small firms won 30% of awards with a known supplier size.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in North West England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Across this market, 13% of winners were registered in the delivery region.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 53 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Across this market, at least 6% of awarded procurements had no recorded rival.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid0%
2–38%
4–625%
7+67%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS: the price is set later, on each call-off.
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 5552Published estimate£1.3m
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid3%
2–363%
4–627%
7+6%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £442m50 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 27 live · £318m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=36 | |
| £194m64 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 38 live · £132m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=64 | |
Cater Link LimitedLarge | £157m35 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 20 live · £74m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=34 |
abm catering limitedLarge | £43m31 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 35 live · £58m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=44 |
| £34m11 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 6 live · £24m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 30% above n=12 |
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender and Contracts Finder), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly. Contracts Finder appears in live search, the Retender Radar, contract pages, organisation counts and the buyer's decision figure; the other analytical figures are built from Find a Tender notices.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
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
- Requests to participate open
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 9 Nov 2026, 19:23 GMT
- Last source update
- 9 Nov 2026, 19:23 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 22 Jan 2027
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-106447- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07b814Find a Tender
- How it runs
The competitive flexible procedure will commence with a participation stage whereby a PSQ will be completed by interested suppliers. This will be scored and successful suppliers will be invited to submit a full tender. The tender submissions will be analysed and scored and selected suppliers will be invited to final interview/presentation stage. The contracting Authority will then select the successful framework supplier/s and award the contract.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 19 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Appointment period ends
- 19 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- —
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
- Shortlist
- 5–8 candidates invited to tender
Timeline
9 Nov 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 4 dates- Tender notice published1h ago9 Nov 2026, 19:23 GMT
- Today9 Nov 2026
- Admission / appointment period endsin 9 days · period end, not a bid countdown19 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 74 days22 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 142 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published9 Nov 2026, 19:23 GMTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications PSQ Document for St Joseph Catholic MAT Framework Catering Tender 2026/27
- Bidding documents and specificationsAccess: Tender documents will be emailed out to each successful PSQ bidder
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender