TenderlineUK
Procurement Intelligence
Search
Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice
Published 8 Aug 2025, 17:14 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Supply And Delivery of Pre Prepared Meals to the Education Authority

Official notice

Authority: the Education Authority (Central government)

GoodsOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Sectors: Food, beverages, tobacco and related products (15) Delivery: Northern Ireland (UKN)
Published estimate£335,000≈ £67k / year · £402,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 8 Sept 2025awarded 27 Oct 2025
Awarded to Henderson Foodservice Limited
Contract term 5 yrsends 30 Nov 2030 · up to 30 Nov 2032 with extensions · starts 1 Dec 2025

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Supply and delivery of Pre-Prepared Meals (Individual and Bulk) to school meals kitchens within Northern Ireland

Contract period: 01 December 2025 – 30 November 2030 with the option to extend for a further two 12-month extension periods

Total awarded value £335,000 excluding VAT

This Contract is established by the Education Authority and is open to the EA, including NI educational bodies as follows, who at some point, during the life of the Contract may wish to utilise the agreement and should have access at any point, with the permission of EA.

This Contract is not intended to replace any current agreements that participating or nonparticipating institutions may already have in place.

Department of Education - Schools Plus www.educationni.gov.uk/services/schoolsplus ↗

Primary and Post Primary schools under the control of the EA, Catholic Maintained Schools

Independent Schools in NI, Irish Medium Schools in NI, both Controlled and Voluntary

Grammar Schools, Nursery School for NI (both controlled, and Catholic Maintained), schoolmeals kitchens on-site at all of these schools, and Controlled Youth Centres.

Further Education Colleges in NI : www.nidirect.gov.uk/contacts/furthereduc… ↗

NICIE - nicie.org ↗

Grant Controlled Integrated Education Schools in NI

Independent Schools in NI www.isc.co.uk/schools/northern-ire… ↗

EA Teachers' and Educational Centres

Council for the Curriculum, Examination and Assessment NI (CCEA)

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Middletown Centre for Autism

Controlled Schools Support Council (CSSC)

Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE)

Pre-Schools and Nurseries included within the EA Pre-School Education Programme (PSEP)

  • The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Mar 2032, 23:59 GMT.

CPV: Prepared dishes · Prepared meals · School meals

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1AwardedRenewal 5 yrsSMEVCSEPublished value£335,000
Contract period: 1 Dec 2025 – 30 Nov 2030 (5 yrs) · up to 30 Nov 2032 with extensionsValue: £335,000 exc. VAT · £402,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: Northern IrelandEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions: The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. Additional items may be added to the Contract throughout the Term with the agreement of both the Buyer and the Supplier. This may include any individual or bulk pre-prepared meals options that may be required throughout the duration of the Contract. Any items added to the Contract during the Term must be in line with the Pricing submitted with similar items at tender. · Two 12 month optional extensions
15894200 Prepared meals15894210 School meals15894300 Prepared dishes
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)1
  • Technical & professional ability

    CoP 1 Technical ability to perform the contract – Previous Experience

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: 80%Price: 20%
Published sub-criteria (3)
  • Proposed Methodology: 20%
  • Quality of Samples - Product Characteristics: 60%
  • Price: 20%
Published award criteria (3)
  • Proposed Methodology: Full details can be found in the CfTdocuments section on eTenderNI https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
  • Quality of Samples - Product Characteristics: Full details can be found in the CfTdocuments section on eTenderNI https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
  • Price: Full details can be found in the CfTdocuments section on eTenderNI https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Conditions of participation1
  • Technical & professional ability

    CoP 1 Technical ability to perform the contract – Previous Experience

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 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
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Goods
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
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Yes · next expected 1 Mar 2032
First published
8 Aug 2025, 17:14 BST
Last source update
17 Nov 2025, 09:38 GMT
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 10 Nov 2025
Authority reference
CAT-25-012
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-047438
Latest notice
Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV)
Prepared dishesPrepared mealsSchool meals
Delivery area
Northern Ireland (UKN)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05849c Find a Tender
Contract terms summary

Full details can be found in the CfT documents section on eTenderN -

Ietendersni.gov.uk/epps ↗

Review and risk notes
Risks

The Buyer cannot guarantee any particular level of business (volumes/values) within the

Contract.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: eTendersNI · Who buys & how to bid on eTendersNI
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free Northern Ireland registration
Submission deadline
8 Sept 2025, 15:00 BST
Clarification deadline
1 Sept 2025, 15:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via

etendersni.gov.uk/epps ↗

Timeline

8 Aug 2025 → 1 Dec 2025 · 8 dates
  1. Tender notice published
    8 Aug 2025, 17:14 BST
  2. Clarification questions by
    1 Sept 2025, 15:00 BST
  3. Submission deadline
    8 Sept 2025, 15:00 BST
  4. Assessment summaries sent361 days ago
    27 Oct 2025
  5. Standstill ends351 days ago
    5 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
  6. Award decision expected by346 days ago
    10 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
  7. Latest notice published340 days ago
    17 Nov 2025, 09:38 GMT
  8. Contract starts326 days ago
    1 Dec 2025

Notice history

5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 8 Aug 2025
  1. Tender notice published
    8 Aug 2025, 17:14 BST
    UK4
  2. Contract award notice published
    27 Oct 2025, 16:34 GMT
    UK6
  3. Status changed to complete
    27 Oct 2025, 16:34 GMT
  4. Contract signature expected
    6 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
    scheduled
  5. Contract details notice published
    17 Nov 2025, 09:38 GMT
    UK7

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £335,0001 award exc. VAT
Bids received 1
Contracts signed 1latest 7 Nov 2025
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Henderson Foodservice Limited1 Dec 2025 – 30 Nov 2030 · up to 30 Nov 2032Extensions: Option to extend for a further two 12 month extension periods · Options: The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. The EA Catering Service will continuously review the product range and specifications of items on this Contract. The Supplier will be required to work with the EA Catering Service in sourcing any new products that may be required.£335,00027 Oct 2025Awarded

Contracts

  • Supply And Delivery of Pre Prepared Meals to the Education Authority · Henderson Foodservice Limited

    Signed
    7 Nov 2025
    Value
    £335,000
    Period
    1 Dec 2025 – 30 Nov 2030 · up to 30 Nov 2032 with extensions
    Status
    active
    Extensions
    Option to extend for a further two 12-month extension periods
    Options
    The right to additional purchases which fall under the scope of the contract, while the contract is valid. The EA Catering Service will continuously review the product range and specifications of items on this Contract. The Supplier will be required to work with the EA Catering Service in sourcing any new products that may be required.

    No agreed KPIs: The contract value is NOT more than £5 million including VAT

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
1final-stage tenders · 3 at stage one00—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

The Education Authority NI

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central governmentNorthern Irish devolved regulations apply GB-PPON: PPHJ-6982-JPXY 40 Academy Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT1 2NQContact name, email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • HENDERSON FOODSERVICE LIMITEDAwarded supplierGB-COH: NI006894GB-PPON: PTDD-2623-PPYP 1 Hightown Avenue, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, BT36 4RTContact email

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender
  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender