Find a TenderAwarded
Published 6 Jan 2025, 14:35 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Cambrian Learning Trust - Catering and Cleaning Services

Official notice

Authority: Cambrian Learning Trust (Public body)

3 lotsServicesRestricted procedureSME suitable
Published estimate£11,384,250total for 3 lots
Submissions closed 10 Feb 2025awarded 30 Jun 2025
Awarded to Cater Link Limited +2 more3 awards

What is being bought3 lots · detail below

Published requirement description

Cambrian Learning Trust is currently out to tender for the provision of full daily catering and cleaning services.The services at the Cambrian Learning Trust are outsourced. TUPE is expected to apply, details of which can be found in the tender documentation.Catering: 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 breakfast and morning breaks at some sites and full lunch service for each school day at all sites. Across the Trust there are currently 8004 pupils on roll for the academic year 2024/25. Of this figure, 1394 pupils are entitled to UIFSM and a further 1283 to Free School Meals. Cleaning: The contract is being offered for three years with the option to extend for a further two periods of 12 months. The contract commencement date is 01 September 2025.The contract is for a full daily cleaning service during term time and periodic cleaning outside of term.

  • Recurrence: Further notices will be published in 2027, 2028 or 2029 dependent on the exercising of contract extension options.

CPV: School catering services · School cleaning services

Lots and requirements (3)Procurement structure

3 lots · all with a published value (£11,384,250 together) · evaluation weights differ by lot
Lot #1Catering-Primary SchoolsAwardedPublished value£4,430,000

Cambrian Learning Trust is currently out to tender for the provision of full daily catering for their Primary Schools under Lot1.The services at the Cambrian Learning Trust 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 Primary schools. This will consist of breakfast and morning breaks at some sites and full lunch service for each school day at all sites. The catering facilities at the schools include the main dining areas and servery.Across the Trust there are currently 8004 pupils on roll for the academic year 2024/25, of this 3673 pupils are in the Primary setting. Of this figure, 1240 pupils are entitled to UIFSM and a further 575 to Free School Meals in their primary schools. TUPE is expected to apply, details of which can be found in the tender documentation.Some members of the catering team (8 staff) are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme and all details are 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. Additional information: The duration detailed above includes the initial term of three years as well as the two optional contract extension periods of 12 months each.

Delivery: South East · Full details in tender documentation
Extensions: The contract will be awarded for an initial period of three years with two possible extensions of 12 months meaning a maximum contract length of five years.Second stage: up to 5 candidates invited to tenderVariant bids: allowed
Lot #2Catering-Secondary SchoolsAwardedPublished value£4,685,000

Cambrian Learning Trust is currently out to tender for the provision of full daily catering for their Secondary and All-Through Schools under Lot2.The services at the Cambrian Learning Trust are outsourced.The Contractor will be responsible for the provision of a full school food catering service for the pupils and staff at the Secondary and All-Through Schools . This will consist of breakfast and morning breaks at some sites and full lunch service for each school day at all sites. The catering facilities at the schools include the main dining areas and servery.Across the Trust there are currently 8004 pupils on roll for the academic year 2024/25, of this 4331 pupils are in the Primary setting. Of this figure, 154 pupils are entitled to UIFSM and a further 708 to Free School Meals in their Secondary and All-Through Schools. TUPE is expected to apply, details of which can be found in the tender documentation.Some members of the catering team (10 staff) are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme and all details are 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. Additional information: The duration detailed above includes the initial term of three years as well as the two optional contract extension periods of 12 months each.

Delivery: South East · Full details in tender documentation
Extensions: The contract will be awarded for an initial period of three years with two possible extensions of 12 months meaning a maximum contract length of five years.Second stage: up to 5 candidates invited to tenderVariant bids: allowed
Lot #3CleaningAwardedPublished value£2,269,250

Cambrian Learning Trust is currently out to tender for the provision of full daily cleaning services.The services at the Cambrian Learning Trust are outsourced.The contract is being offered for three years with the option to extend for a further two periods of 12 months. The contract commencement date is 01 September 2025.The contract is for a full daily cleaning service during term time and periodic cleaning outside of term time.TUPE is expected to apply, details of which can be found in the tender documentation.Some members of the cleaning team (5 staff) are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme and all details are in the tender documentation. Additional information: The duration detailed above includes the initial term of three years as well as the two optional contract extension periods of 12 months each.

Delivery: South East · Full details in tender documentation
Extensions: The contract will be awarded for an initial period of three years with two possible extensions of 12 months meaning a maximum contract length of five years.Second stage: up to 5 candidates invited to tenderVariant bids: allowed

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

Lots publish different evaluation splits; there is no single procedure weighting.

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 10–30 points depending on the lot; most lots put it at 10 points.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record · publisher note attached
Procedure method
Restricted procedure
Legal basis
CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Awarded
Procurement threshold
Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement

Yes · Further notices will be published in 2027, 2028 or 2029 dependent on the exercising of contract extension options.

First published
6 Jan 2025, 14:35 GMT
Last source update
15 Jul 2025, 11:09 BST
Authority reference
MPN-10311
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-039865
Classification (CPV)
School catering servicesSchool cleaning services
Delivery area
South East (UKJ14)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04cd97 Find a Tender
Review and risk notes
Review procedure

Cambrian Learning Trust incorporated a standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract was communicated to tenderers. That notification provided full information on the award decision. The standstill period, which was for a minimum of 10 calendar days, provided time for unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract was entered into. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).

Publisher note: CPV code 55524000-9, falls within Schedule 3 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 as a Social and Other Specific Service, therefore the procurement procedure is governed by Section 7 of Part 2 (Regulations 74-77) of those Regulations.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: In-tend · Who buys & how to bid on In-tend
Supplier login requiredLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · one account per buying organisation's portal · reCAPTCHA on signup
Submission deadline
10 Feb 2025, 17:00 GMT
Submission channel
{"electronicSubmission","written"}
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

10 Feb 2025 → 15 Jul 2025 · 3 dates
  1. Submission deadline
    10 Feb 2025, 17:00 GMT
  2. Invitations to tender expected
    18 Mar 2025
  3. Notice published
    15 Jul 2025, 11:09 BST

Notice history

1 event · 2 releases on Find a Tender
  1. Status changed to complete
    15 Jul 2025, 11:09 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 3
Awarded value £16,727,2253 contracts exc. VAT
Bids received 135 from SMEs
Contracts signed 3latest 30 Jun 2025
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Lot 1 · Catering-Primary Schools1 award
Cater Link LimitedCatering Services£5,649,882 †—Awarded
Lot 2 · Catering-Secondary Schools1 award
Dolce LtdCatering Services£8,223,178 †—Awarded
Lot 3 · Cleaning1 award
YBC Cleaning Services LtdCleaning Services£2,854,165 †—Awarded

Contracts

Bid statistics published by the authority

LotBidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
1 · Catering-Primary Schools5bids · 5 electronic2——
2 · Catering-Secondary Schools4bids · 4 electronic2——
3 · Cleaning4bids · 4 electronic1——

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Cambrian Learning Trust

Contracting authorityPublic bodyEducation InstituteEducation Fernham Road, Faringdon, South East, SN7 7LBContact name, email, phone Published organisation website ↗

Dispute resolution & review bodies

  • High CourtReview body London

Bidders & participating suppliers

3 commercial parties on the notice
  • Cater Link LimitedAwarded supplier Earley West, Thames Valley Business Park, Reading, South East, RG6 1PT
  • Dolce LtdAwarded supplier Lowton Business Park, Newton Road, Lowton, North West, WA3 2AN
  • YBC Cleaning Services LimitedAwarded supplier 161 North Lane, Aldershot, South East, GU12 4TA

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

  • Economic and financial selection criteriatenderEconomic and financial selection criteria
  • Technical selection criteriatenderTechnical selection criteria