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School Catering Services for South Farnham Educational Trust Primary Schools

SOUTH FARNHAM EDUCATIONAL TRUST

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Award

27 Aug 2026 at 16:33

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

30 Mar 2026 at 12:27

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
TenderUpdate

26 Nov 2025 at 14:06

UK4 - Tender Notice
Tender

19 Nov 2025 at 13:21

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

South Farnham Educational Trust is procuring school catering services for eight of its primary and nursery schools. The requirement is for a catering provider able to deliver flexible, best-value food services, including freshly prepared food using authentic recipes and ingredients. The service is intended to support healthy eating, service innovation, food education and sustainability initiatives, alongside good day-to-day catering. The Trust is based at South Farnham School in Farnham, and the work will be delivered across the Trust’s schools. This is a services opportunity in the school catering sector, classified under CPV 55524000. Panache Consultancy acted as the procuring entity and supported the Trust with the tender exercise; the Trust remains the buying organisation and budget holder.

The procurement is complete and the catering contract was awarded to Edwards & Ward Limited on 30 March 2026. Five bids reached the final stage, including two from SMEs. The competitive flexible procedure used a two-stage process: a Procurement Specific Questionnaire followed by an Invitation to Tender, with at least five candidates progressing. The award was evaluated 70% on quality and technical merit and 30% on price. The awarded and contracted value is £4,850,000 gross. The contract was signed on 27 August 2026 and runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2029, with provision for two one-year extensions, giving a maximum end date of 31 August 2031. A standstill period ended on 10 April 2026.

This award demonstrates established demand from an education trust for a substantial, multi-school catering operation rather than a single-site service. A credible future competitor would need the operational capacity to serve eight primary and nursery schools consistently, manage school food production and service, and provide reliable logistics across multiple sites. The requirement favours providers able to evidence high food quality, authentic recipes, healthy eating and responsive service, while also contributing ideas for service improvement. Experience delivering food education and practical sustainability initiatives would strengthen a supplier’s position. Because quality and technical merit carried considerably more weight than price, bidders would need a well-developed service model, strong mobilisation and account management, and evidence that they can work collaboratively with schools and the Trust.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

School Catering Services for South Farnham Educational Trust Primary Schools

Notice Description

Procurement exercise to source a suitable catering provider for 8 primary and nursery schools within the South Farnham Educational Trust (SFET). Eight of the Trust's schools are seeking a new catering services contract from 1st September 2026, for a contract term of 3 years (plus possible 2 year extension on a +1year, +1year basis). SFET undertook this tender exercise to source a flexible and best value catering contractor with whom they can partner with to achieve service excellence through the provision of a great tasting food, made with authentic recipes and ingredients. Healthy eating, service innovation and added value through food education and sustainability initiatives are equally as important.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Up to 2 year extension, on a +1year, +1year basis.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e462
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081940-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

CPV Codes

55524000 - School catering services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£2,964,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£2,964,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£4,850,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£4,850,000 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
27 Aug 20262 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
30 Mar 20267 months ago
Contract Period
1 Sep 2026 - 31 Aug 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
SOUTH FARNHAM EDUCATIONAL TRUST
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
FARNHAM
Postcode
GU9 8DY
Postcode Area
Guildford
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ2 Surrey, East and West Sussex
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ25 West Surrey
Delivery Location
TLJ25 West Surrey
Local Authority
Waverley
Electoral Ward
Farnham Moor Park
Westminster Constituency
Farnham and Bordon

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Edwards and Ward Ltd

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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