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Soft Services Hospitality

UK Hydrographic Office

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

14 Aug 2026 at 11:56

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

14 Aug 2026 at 11:42

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The UK Hydrographic Office is procuring soft-services hospitality, centred on catering services, for its operations in the United Kingdom. The requirement is a service rather than goods or construction, and is associated with the UK Hydrographic Office in Taunton. The stated purpose is to provide hospitality services that are not covered by the existing FDIS and HESTIA soft-services arrangements delivered under the Defence Infrastructure Organisation. The procurement is organised as one completed lot. The awarded catering activity is described under CPV 55520000. The selected provider is Compass Contract Services (U.K.) Limited, a large commercial catering and facilities-services company. Businesses considering comparable work should therefore focus on delivering managed hospitality and catering services for a central-government organisation, with performance across the relevant UK operating location.

The procurement has been completed through a direct award. The award rationale states that the existing FDIS and HESTIA contract does not include this catering element. Compass Contract Services (U.K.) Limited received two active awards for the requirement. Award 1, dated 14 August 2026, is valued at £150,000 excluding VAT (£180,000 gross) and covers 14 August 2026 to 28 February 2028. Award 2 is valued at £15,000 excluding VAT (£18,000 gross), with the same signed period from 14 August 2026 to 28 February 2028. Both contracts were signed on 14 August 2026 and are active. The procurement is above the relevant threshold. It was evaluated through a direct-award route, with the requirement treated as one completed lot.

This award demonstrates demand from the UK Hydrographic Office for contracted catering and hospitality that sits outside a wider soft-services arrangement. A credible competitor for a comparable requirement would need the operational capacity to deliver managed catering services for a central-government buyer, together with the staffing, service controls and supply arrangements needed for reliable hospitality delivery. Relevant experience should include running catering operations at an organisational site rather than supplying isolated products or one-off events. The incumbent is a large commercial provider, indicating that scale, mobilisation capability and established facilities-services processes may be important in competing for similar work. Suppliers should also be able to explain how their service would integrate with existing estates or facilities contracts where catering is procured as a separate element, while maintaining clear performance arrangements for the hospitality service.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Soft Services Hospitality

Notice Description

Soft Services Hospitality for the UKHO

Procurement Information

ESS provide the UKHO's soft services under the FDIS and HESTIA contract by DIO. This element of catering isnt included with that contract.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e47b
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077627-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

CPV Codes

55520000 - Catering services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£150,000 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
£165,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
14 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
14 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
14 Aug 2026 - 28 Feb 2028 1-2 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
UK Hydrographic Office
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
TAUNTON
Postcode
TA1 2DN
Postcode Area
Taunton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK6 North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK62 Somerset
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Somerset
Electoral Ward
Taunton East
Westminster Constituency
Taunton and Wellington

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

COMPASS CONTRACT SERVICES (U.K.) LIMITED

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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