Official UK procurement notice
The Keys Academy Trust - Catering Services (2026)
Authority: THE KEYS ACADEMY TRUST (Public body)·Procurement run by: Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services Limited
The Keys Academy Trust is currently out to tender for the provision of a full daily catering service. The services at the Trust schools are outsourced. The Contractor will be responsible for the provision of a full school food catering service for the pupils and staff at the Trust schools.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Keys Academy Trust is currently out to tender for the provision of a full daily catering service.
The services at the Trust schools are outsourced.
The Contractor will be responsible for the provision of a full school food catering service for the pupils and staff at the Trust schools. This will consist of a full lunch service for each school day at all sites.
The catering facilities at the school include the main hall used as dining areas and kitchen/ servery.
Across the Trust there are currently 2904 pupils on roll for the academic year 2026/27. Of this figure, 1142 pupils are entitled to UIFSM and a further 222 to Free School Meals.
TUPE is expected to apply, details of which can be found in the tender documentation.
The Trust is keen to further increase uptake and continue the good work already in place for catering. It wishes to do so by working closely with the successful contractor in developing and continuously improving the service and partnership during the period of the contract and by introducing innovative and creative ideas as submitted in the tender process and ongoing.
The Trust is aware that there are always opportunities to improve and modernise. They are interested in ensuring that the caterers provide the best possible service, introducing new menu ideas and initiatives so that pupils are all eating and utilising the service regularly.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 9 Nov 2028, 23:59 GMT.
- How the procedure runs: Duty to Consider Lots As part of the initial project set up and approval stage of the tender process, The Keys Academy Trust discussed with Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services Limited the possibility of splitting the tender into more than one lot/contract. On the basis that The Keys Academy Trust is a Trust with only a small number of sites and in a close geographic area it was agreed that lots were not appropriate for this tender process. Full details of the description of the process being used are contained within the documents accompanying this tender. Stage 1 Conditions of participation with evaluation Suppliers are invited to submit a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) response. Submissions will be evaluated based on the criteria detailed in the PSQ documentation. A maximum of five suppliers will be taken forward to the Invitation to Tender stage of the process. Where less than five suppliers meet the minimum standards, only those that meet the minimum standards will be taken through to the Invitation to Tender stage. Where more than five suppliers meet the minimum standard, those suppliers with the highest scores will proceed to the Invitation to Tender stage. Stage 2 Invitation to Tender with evaluation Suppliers shortlisted to the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage will be required to submit their final tender and will be evaluated on the criteria detailed in the ITT documentation. Envisaged shortlist of the three highest scoring bidders to be invited to: Stage 3 Presentation Day Stage 4 Assessment Summaries and Publication of Contract Award Notice (commencing 8 working day standstill period) Stage 5 Publication of Contract Details Notice Further details of the CFP can be found in the documentation accompanying this tender.
CPV: School catering services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£3,695,000
- Condition of participationshortlisting
A maximum of five suppliers will be taken forward to the Invitation to Tender stage of the process. Where less than five suppliers meet the minimum standards, only those that meet the minimum standards will be taken through to the Invitation to Tender stage. Where more than five suppliers meet the minimum standard, the 5 highest scoring suppliers will proceed to the Invitation to Tender stage.
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 award criteria (2)
- Quality: Full details of the weightings and evaluation criteria are contained within the documents accompanying this tender.
- Price: Full details of the weightings and evaluation criteria are contained within the documents accompanying this tender.
- Condition of participationshortlisting
A maximum of five suppliers will be taken forward to the Invitation to Tender stage of the process. Where less than five suppliers meet the minimum standards, only those that meet the minimum standards will be taken through to the Invitation to Tender stage. Where more than five suppliers meet the minimum standard, the 5 highest scoring suppliers will proceed to the Invitation to Tender stage.
- Price carries 10 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 1 point. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £2,461,086 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How THE KEYS ACADEMY TRUST buys Catering services (CPV 5552), and who usually turns up
THE KEYS ACADEMY TRUST has little published record in this market. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. 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 37% 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 South East England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Across this market, 56% 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 76 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 20% 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 bid14%
2–323%
4–657%
7+6%
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.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate9%
Within ±2%29%
Above estimate62%
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£3.7m
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. The bar shows 81 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid14%
2–323%
4–657%
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cater Link LimitedEarlier contract | The Keys Academy Trust - Catering Servicenotice published Jul 2022 | Catering Services | £2.9m | Matched as the earlier contract |
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.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
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.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
83% title match.
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.
83% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (83% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
The Keys Academy Trust - Catering Service — held by Cater Link Limited; no contract end date published.
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
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 9 Nov 2028
- First published
- 9 Nov 2026, 12:35 GMT
- Last source update
- 9 Nov 2026, 12:35 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 21 Apr 2027
- Authority reference
MPN-10362- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-106190- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07b781Find a Tender
- How it runs
Duty to Consider Lots
As part of the initial project set up and approval stage of the tender process, The Keys Academy Trust discussed with Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services Limited the possibility of splitting the tender into more than one lot/contract.
On the basis that The Keys Academy Trust is a Trust with only a small number of sites and in a close geographic area it was agreed that lots were not appropriate for this tender process.
Full details of the description of the process being used are contained within the documents accompanying this tender.
Stage 1 Conditions of participation with evaluation
Suppliers are invited to submit a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) response. Submissions will be evaluated based on the criteria detailed in the PSQ documentation. A maximum of five suppliers will be taken forward to the Invitation to Tender stage of the process. Where less than five suppliers meet the minimum standards, only those that meet the minimum standards will be taken through to the Invitation to Tender stage. Where more than five suppliers meet the minimum standard, those suppliers with the highest scores will proceed to the Invitation to Tender stage.
Stage 2 Invitation to Tender with evaluation
Suppliers shortlisted to the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage will be required to submit their final tender and will be evaluated on the criteria detailed in the ITT documentation. Envisaged shortlist of the three highest scoring bidders to be invited to:
Stage 3 Presentation Day
Stage 4 Assessment Summaries and Publication of Contract Award Notice (commencing 8 working day standstill period)
Stage 5 Publication of Contract Details Notice
Further details of the CFP can be found in the documentation accompanying this tender.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via In-tend- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 4 Dec 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Tender submission deadline
- 4 Dec 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 19 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Full details of how to submit are contained within the documents accompanying this tender.
Timeline
9 Nov 2026 → 1 Aug 2027 · 5 dates- Tender notice published1h ago9 Nov 2026, 12:35 GMT
- Today9 Nov 2026
- Clarification questions byin 10 days19 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 25 days4 Dec 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 163 days21 Apr 2027, 23:59 BST
- Contract startsin 264 days1 Aug 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published9 Nov 2026, 12:35 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
2 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services LimitedProcess contact pointProcuring entityProcurement consultancy for The Keys Academy Trust
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications All documents are being provided on publication of this Tender Notice. They will be hosted, and are freely available, on the In-tend portal for Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services Limited.
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender