School Meals Catering Service

Official notice

Authority: London Borough of Merton (Local council)

ServicesAbove thresholdLight touch regime

Sectors: Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services (55) Delivery: Delivery location not published

Planned pipeline valueValue not publishedpipeline notice, not a live tender

Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice

Contract term 3 yrsends 2 Aug 2029 · up to 2 Aug 2031 with extensions · starts 3 Aug 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The London Borough of Merton (“the Council”) is seeking to undertake a procurement exercise for the provision of catering services for pupils and staff within our primary, special and secondary schools from September 2026.

The Council currently provides school catering services for 35 out of 43 primary schools, 3 special schools and 2 secondary schools within the Borough – these are commissioned through central contracts – one for primary and special schools and one for secondary schools.

CPV: School catering services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

Lot #1PlannedRenewal 3 yrs

Contract period: 3 Aug 2026 – 2 Aug 2029 (3 yrs) · up to 2 Aug 2031 with extensions

Extensions: Extension options published

55524000 School catering services

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record

Legal basis: UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category: Services
Notice status: Past planning notice
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: Unspecified in notice
First published: 29 Sept 2025, 14:49 BST
Last source update: 29 Sept 2025, 14:49 BST
Authority reference: DN792355
FTS notice number: 2025/S 000-060547
Latest notice: Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV): School catering services
Delivery area: Not published
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05a424 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice

Submission deadline: —

Timeline

29 Sept 2025 → 3 Aug 2026 · 3 dates

Planning notice published394 days ago
29 Sept 2025, 14:49 BST
Market engagement375 days ago
17 Oct 2025, 23:59 BST
The London Borough of Merton (“the Council”) is seeking to undertake a procurement exercise for the provision of catering services for pupils and staff within our primary, special and secondary schools from September 2026.
The Council would like to discuss the provision of School Meals Catering Services. A soft market testing questionnaire can be accessed via the London Tenders portal (ref: DN792355). There are a set of questions at the end of the document for which we are seeking responses from providers such as yourselves.
Contract starts86 days ago
3 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender

Preliminary market engagement notice published
29 Sept 2025, 14:49 BST
UK2

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice

Awards (0): No award published
Contracts (0): No contract published
Bid statistics: No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

London Borough of Merton

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PLZQ-1654-VNHW Civic Centre, London Rd, Morden, London, SM4 5DXContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

Preliminary market engagement notice planningPreliminary market engagement noticeUK2Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender29 Sept 2025, 14:49 BST