Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
City of London Academies Trust Catering Tender
Gresham Street
London
EC2P 2EJ
UK
E-mail: info@cohesionconsulting.co.uk
NUTS: UKI44
Internet address(es)
Main address: www.cohesionconsulting.co.uk
Address of the buyer profile: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/cohesionconsulting/aspx/Home
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Education
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
City of London Academies Trust Catering
Reference number: CCL_034
II.1.2) Main CPV code
55524000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
The City of London Academies Trust (COLAT) is a highly successful Trust operating ten primary and secondary academies in London. Out of these, five have in-house services, four are outsourced and one Sixth Form, which is set to open next year, currently has no catering service. The Trust has approximately 8,000 students, ranging from 6 to 18 years old, supported by a team of 1,000 teaching and support staff. The Trust is tendering their catering services across three Lots in a two stage tender process under the Light Touch Regime:• Lot One includes three primary academies: COLA Primary Islington, Redriff and Galleywall. Annual sales turnover is £513,716.• Lot Two has two secondary academies with family-style dining: COLA Shoreditch Park and The City Academy Hackney. Annual sales turnover is £1,089,685.• Lot Three consists of five secondary academies with counter service: COLA Highgate Hill, Highbury Grove, Islington, Newham Collegiate Sixth Form (opening a new café by Septemb
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
8 500 000.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
55524000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKI4
Main site or place of performance:
Primary and Secondary Academies in Hackney, Islington, Southwark and Newham.
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The City of London Academies Trust (COLAT) is a highly successful Trust operating ten primary and secondary academies in London. Out of these, five have in-house services, four are outsourced and one Sixth Form, which is set to open next year, currently has no catering service. The Trust has approximately 8,000 students, ranging from 6 to 18 years old, supported by a team of 1,000 teaching and support staff. The Trust is tendering their catering services across three Lots in a two stage tender process under the Light Touch Regime:• Lot One includes three primary academies: COLA Primary Islington, Redriff and Galleywall. Annual sales turnover is £513,716.• Lot Two has two secondary academies with family-style dining: COLA Shoreditch Park and The City Academy Hackney. Annual sales turnover is £1,089,685.• Lot Three consists of five secondary academies with counter service: COLA Highgate Hill, Highbury Grove, Islington, Newham Collegiate Sixth Form (opening a new café by September 2025) and COLA Southwark. Annual sales turnover is £1,095,388. The catering services have an annual turnover in excess of £2.6M must reflect the high aspirations of the trust and every Headteacher, and they are tendering their catering services to deliver the very best service for every student at the Trust. The contract start date is the 1st of August 2025 and this will be for an initial three-year period. There is an option for both parties to extend the contract for a further two years subject to client satisfaction and client agreement on budgets and service levels. The majority of staff in the catering teams of all three Lots have LGPS pensions.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Price
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
II.2.14) Additional information
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Restricted procedure
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
No
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:
2024/S 000-031796
Section V: Award of contract
Contract No: CCL_034
Title: City of London Academies Trust Catering Tender
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
23/02/2026
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 5
Number of tenders received from SMEs: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from EU Member States: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 0
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 5
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Aspens Services Limited
10 Beaufort Way
London
UK
NUTS: UKI42
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot:
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 2 650 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
The Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2AS
UK
Telephone: +44 2072761234
E-mail: cocommercial@crowncommercial.gov.uk
Internet address(es)
URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/cabinet-office/about/procurement
VI.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures
Cohesion Consulting Ltd
16 Mount Pleasant
Tunbridge Wells
TN1 1QU
UK
E-mail: info@cohesionconsultingltd.co.uk
Internet address(es)
URL: www.cohesionconsulting.co.uk
VI.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
26/02/2026