Tender

School Catering Services for East Sussex County Council

EAST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Tender

06 Oct 2025 at 09:15

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

18 Jun 2025 at 09:53

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

29 Apr 2025 at 09:54

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

East Sussex County Council is currently in the tender stage for a high-value procurement, seeking to appoint a qualified service provider for school catering services in the East Sussex area. This procurement process falls under the services industry category, specifically school catering, delineated by CPV code 55524000. The tender has a value of approximately £87.36 million gross (or £72.8 million net) and covers 138 schools, providing around 15,000 meals per day. The procurement employs an open procedure method, with submissions required by 17th November 2025. Contracts are anticipated to commence on 1st August 2026, with a potential extension up to 2033.

This tender presents a substantial opportunity for providers specialising in school catering services, particularly those with capabilities in delivering high-quality, cost-efficient meal services while committing to environmental and social value initiatives. Businesses that can demonstrate innovation, reliability, and an ability to scale to the demand of 15,000 meals per day will find this opportunity lucrative. The County Council's emphasis on obtaining commitments towards continuous improvement and offering added social value makes this an attractive prospect for enterprises with robust sustainability initiatives and those seeking significant growth within the public sector catering landscape.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

School Catering Services for East Sussex County Council

Notice Description

East Sussex County Council Council is seeking to appoint a qualified and suitable service provider for the provision of school meal services to educational establishments in the East Sussex area. The current contract expires on 31st July 2026. The County Council is legally required to provide access to a free school meal service for maintained schools (including provision of Key Stage 1 meals currently funded through Universal Infant Free School Meal funding from the DfE); therefore, arrangements will need to be made to continue to provide this service from 1st August 2026. The contracts are worth approximately PS10.4 million per annum and currently used by 138 schools, serving approximately 15,000 meals per day. The objectives of this procurement are to put in place a high quality, value for money service provision whilst also gaining commitment from the provider to undertake continuous improvement and offer environmental and social value initiatives, to further enhance the service.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Optional extension period of 1+1 years from 01.08.2031-31.07.2033.

Planning Information

We will be sending out a survey on Monday 30th June for providers to complete by Friday 18th July. Once we have received your feedback, we will ask you to attend a meeting to discuss our requirements further on either Wednesday 23rd July or Tuesday 29th July. These will be held virtually with individual providers. Please register your interest by providing your email to Hannah.Phillips@eastsussex.gov.uk by Friday 27th June and we will contact you with the survey on Monday 30th June.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0508eb
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/062398-2025
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

CPV Codes

55524000 - School catering services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£72,800,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
£72,800,000 £10M-£100M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
6 Oct 20254 months ago
Submission Deadline
17 Nov 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
6 Oct 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 Jul 2026 - 31 Jul 2031 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
EAST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
procurementpmo@eastsussex.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LEWES
Postcode
BN7 1UE
Post Town
Brighton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ2 Surrey, East and West Sussex
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ22 East Sussex CC
Delivery Location
TLJ22 East Sussex CC
Local Authority
Lewes
Electoral Ward
Lewes Priory
Westminster Constituency
Lewes

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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