Award

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

The Rainbow Multi Academy Trust ~ Catering Tender

The Rainbow Multi Academy Trust ~ Catering Tender

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

07 Aug 2026 at 11:21

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

08 Jan 2026 at 16:05

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Rainbow Multi Academy Trust is procuring comprehensive school catering services for 12 primary schools and academies in Cornwall: Bishop Bronescombe in St Austell; Grampound Road Village, Grampound With Creed, Ladock and Veryan; Penponds, St Meriadoc Infant, St Meriadoc Junior, Trevithick Learning Academy and Troon Community in Camborne; St Issey in Wadebridge; and St Michael’s in Helston. The scope covers all catering delivered within the schools, including hospitality and free-issue requirements. This is a multi-site education catering operation serving schools with varying requirements across Cornwall. The buyer is the Trust itself, operating from Liverpool. The service is classified as school catering services (CPV 55524000).

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded, subject to a standstill period ending on 18 August 2026. The successful supplier is Compass Contract Services (UK) Ltd, trading as Chartwells. The award date is 17 June 2026 and the awarded value is £2,600,000 gross. The contract is scheduled to run from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2031, with potential renewals taking it to 31 August 2033. It was a single-lot open competition using a competitive flexible procedure. Two bids reached the final stage. Evaluation gave quality 70% and price 30%. The tender enquiry deadline was 6 February 2026, the bid deadline was 24 April 2026, and the award decision period ended on 8 June 2026.

This opportunity demonstrates sustained demand from a multi-academy trust for a contractor able to manage catering across numerous primary schools with different operational requirements. Suppliers targeting similar work would need robust school-food delivery capability, experience supporting multiple primary-school sites and familiarity with the governance and service expectations of multi-academy trusts. A credible operator would also need a strong operational base in the South West, or the capacity to establish one, so that it can provide reliable local support, respond flexibly across dispersed schools and maintain service continuity. The guaranteed-performance model and profit-sharing approach indicate that commercial and budget-management skills matter alongside food provision. The two final-stage bids show that the requirement attracted competition, while the quality-led evaluation favours strong service delivery evidence over price alone.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

The Rainbow Multi Academy Trust ~ Catering Tender

Notice Description

The successful Supplier will be required to provide catering services for the following twelve Schools within The Rainbow Multi Academy Trust (MAT): 1.Bishop Bronescombe C of E School, Boscoppa Road, St Austell, Cornwall, PL5 3DT 2.Grampound Road Village CE School, South Street, Grampound Road, Truro, Cornwall, TR2 4DY 3.Grampound With Creed C of E School, Fore Street, Grampound, Truro, Cornwall, TR2 4SB 4.Ladock C of E Primary School, Ladock, Truro, Cornwall, TR2 4PL 5.Penponds School, Higher Penponds, Camborne, Cornwall, TR14 0QN 6.St Issey C of E Primary School, Gardeners Way, St Issey, Wadebridge, Cornwall, PL27 7RN 7.St Meriadoc C of E Infant Academy, Rectory Road, Camborne, Cornwall, TR14 7DW 8.St Meriadoc C of E Junior Academy, Cranfield Road, Camborne, Cornwall, TR14 7PN 9.St Michael's C of E Primary School, Penberthy Road, Helston, Cornwall, TR13 8AR 10.Trevithick Learning Academy, Mount Pleasant Road, Camborne, Cornwall, TR14 7RH 11.Troon Community Primary School, New Road, Troon, Camborne, Cornwall, TR14 9ED 12.Veryan C of E School, Veryan, Truro, Cornwall, TR2 5QA The contract covers the scope for the provision of all catering services within the Schools, which is inclusive of all hospitality and free issue requirements. The duration of the contract being offered is for an initial five-year period commencing on 01 September 2026 and concluding on 31 August 2031, with the potential to then extend for a further two 12-month periods. This extension will be granted by mutual consent and on the same terms and conditions as the original contract without the right to further extend beyond the full five years. The contract being offered within this tender will be on a guaranteed performance basis, with an expected profit share of any betterment to the agreed budget. The Trust is seeking a suitably experienced contractor who is able to evidence working with multiple Primary Schools with varying requirements and Multi Academy Trusts. The successful contractor will already have, or need to develop, a strong operational base within the South West, thus allowing for both adequate contract support and operational flexibility that is to be delivered to support the contract as and when needed moving forwards into this contract term. Please see PSQ document for more information.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: 5+1+1 Please see PSQ document for more information.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06022a
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075199-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
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
£2,600,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£2,600,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£2,600,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
7 Aug 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
24 Apr 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
17 Jun 20263 months ago
Contract Period
1 Sep 2026 - 31 Aug 2031 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
The Rainbow Multi Academy Trust ~ Catering Tender
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LIVERPOOL
Postcode
L36 6FH
Postcode Area
Liverpool
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD7 Merseyside
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD71 East Merseyside
Delivery Location
TLD72 Liverpool
Local Authority
Knowsley
Electoral Ward
St Gabriels
Westminster Constituency
Knowsley

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Compass Contract Services (UK) Ltd

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

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.

Loading OCDS record...