Official UK procurement notice
The Mead Educational Trust Catering Contract
Authority: THE MEAD EDUCATIONAL TRUST (Public body)·On behalf of: ACE Advice Limited
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Trust is seeking to appoint a single contractor to manage and support the catering provision across 16 schools in and around Leicester.
- How the procedure runs: The Competitive Flexible Procedure will consist of two distinct stages, allowing for an initial assessment of interested suppliers. Suppliers will be evaluated against the specific objectives of the new contract through the following stages: • Selection Stage and Shortlisting • Invitation to Tender (ITT) and Shortlisting for Presentation The evaluation of the shortlisting process will be based on the information submitted by the bidding companies. This information will be moderated following the submission of the written statements, the presentations and the checking of supplier references.
CPV: School catering services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£19,800,000
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)
- Quality: 70%
- Finance: 30%
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality: Quality will be assessed through a combination of the written response, presentation, and references provided by bidders. Moderation will be applied across all these areas to ensure consistency and fairness in evaluation, with each element contributing to the overall quality score.
- Finance
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £13,187,956 (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 MEAD EDUCATIONAL TRUST buys Catering services (CPV 5552), and who usually turns up
THE MEAD EDUCATIONAL 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 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 East Midlands.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Across this market, 20% 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 66 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 32% 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 bid19%
2–333%
4–631%
7+17%
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 estimate19%
Within ±2%57%
Above estimate24%
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£20m
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 bid24%
2–323%
4–647%
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.
Based on 24 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£19m–£20m
Estimate£20m
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
abm catering limitedLarge | £46m32 awards in 36m · last this month | 34 live · £57m 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 |
| £195m62 awards in 36m · last 4 months 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=62 | |
| £19m16 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 7 live · £11m 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=12 | |
TAYLOR SHAW LIMITEDLarge | £10m9 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 2 live · £3.1m 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. | 21% above n=9 |
Innovate ServicesLarge | £60m31 awards in 36m · last 4 months ago | 32 live · £80m 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. | 4% above n=43 |
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- 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
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 15 Oct 2026, 16:37 BST
- Last source update
- 15 Oct 2026, 16:37 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 30 Apr 2027
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-097647- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0788e5Find a Tender
- How it runs
The Competitive Flexible Procedure will consist of two distinct stages, allowing for an initial assessment of interested suppliers.
Suppliers will be evaluated against the specific objectives of the new contract through the following stages:
- Selection Stage and Shortlisting
- Invitation to Tender (ITT) and Shortlisting for Presentation
The evaluation of the shortlisting process will be based on the information submitted by the bidding companies. This information will be moderated following the submission of the written statements, the presentations and the checking of supplier references.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via portal- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 6 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Tender submission deadline
- 6 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- —
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
All documents are to be submitted via the Bidiful portal before the deadline of 12.00 noon.
Timeline
15 Oct 2026 → 1 Aug 2027 · 4 dates- Tender notice published12 days ago15 Oct 2026, 16:37 BST
- Today27 Oct 2026
- Submission deadlinein 9 days6 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 185 days30 Apr 2027, 23:59 BST
- Contract startsin 277 days1 Aug 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published15 Oct 2026, 16:37 BSTUK4
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
3 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- ACE Advice LimitedBeneficiary authority
- ACE ADVICE LTDProcess contact pointProcuring entityProcurement support
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Documents are available for bidders by request from the Bidiful portal. Please email jonathan.david@ace-advice.co.uk for access to this project
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender