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School Meals Catering Service

London Borough of Merton

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

21 Jul 2026 at 16:21

Award Notice
Tender

16 Jan 2026 at 12:39

Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The London Borough of Merton commissioned school meals catering services for primary, special and secondary schools across the borough. The service covers preparing and supplying meals for children and young people, as well as teaching and support staff. The requirement is for high-quality, nutritionally balanced and sustainably sourced meals delivered as a school catering service (CPV 55524000; school-meal services CPV 55523100). This is a public-sector food service operation requiring provision across different school settings and age groups. Businesses relevant to this requirement include caterers able to manage school meal production and delivery at borough scale, while meeting nutritional standards and demonstrating sustainable sourcing throughout service delivery.

The procurement is complete and was awarded through an open procedure. Bids closed on 20 February 2026 at 12:00. The contract was awarded to Caterlink on 15 July 2026 for £30,000,000. The contract period runs from 3 August 2026 to 2 August 2029. The award covers the borough-wide school meals catering requirement for primary, special and secondary schools. The stated tender value and awarded value are both £30,000,000. The opportunity was identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises. Caterlink is the selected supplier, so this procurement is an awarded outcome rather than an available contract.

This award confirms substantial, recurring demand from Merton for outsourced catering across primary, special and secondary education. A credible future competitor would need to operate a sizeable school food service, with the capacity to serve children, young people, teachers and support staff across multiple school environments. The requirement points to particular strengths in high-volume meal production, dependable distribution, menu planning and delivery, and the ability to provide meals that are nutritionally balanced and sustainably sourced. Suppliers should be able to demonstrate consistent service quality for different school settings, robust operational management and responsible food sourcing. The procurement was identified as suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises, indicating that organisations of those types may be relevant competitors, either directly or through suitable delivery arrangements.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

School Meals Catering Service

Notice Description

The Council is seeking to commission new school meals services on behalf of Primary, Special and Secondary schools within the borough. The new service will serve the children and young people together with teaching and support staff with high quality nutritionally balanced and sustainably sourced meals for the period commencing in the Autumn term of the 2026/27 academic year.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-532ef68b-7afb-4e22-b221-f58d7a94e52b
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/e6e3dd29-c362-4d46-8c44-baf4df980f1b
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

CPV Codes

55523100 - School-meal services

55524000 - School catering services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£30,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£30,000,000 £10M-£100M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
21 Jul 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
20 Feb 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
15 Jul 20262 months ago
Contract Period
3 Aug 2026 - 2 Aug 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
London Borough of Merton
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
MORDEN
Postcode
SM4 5DX
Postcode Area
Sutton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI6 Outer London - South
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI63 Merton, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
Merton
Electoral Ward
Merton Park
Westminster Constituency
Wimbledon

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Caterlink

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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