---
title: "City of London Academies Trust Catering"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04a5a9"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04a5a9"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04a5a9.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04a5a9.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "CITY OF LONDON ACADEMIES TRUST CATERING TENDER"
published: "2026-02-26"
---

# City of London Academies Trust Catering

Buyer: CITY OF LONDON ACADEMIES TRUST CATERING TENDER  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04a5a9

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## Summary

The City of London Academies Trust has issued a tender for its catering services across multiple academies located in Hackney, Islington, Southwark, and Newham. The procurement is organised into three Lots, each catering to different academe styles ranging from primary to secondary academies. The process follows a selective procurement method under a restricted procedure and is currently in the tender stage, slated to end on 5th November 2024. As a public law body, the Trust seeks suppliers who can align with its high educational aspirations by providing top-tier school catering services. The contract commencement is set for 1st August 2025, initially lasting three years, with the potential for a two-year extension based on mutual agreement on service levels and budgetary satisfaction.

This tender offers significant opportunities for businesses specialising in school catering services, with a total estimated contract value of £8.5 million. Aspens Services Limited, a large-scale supplier, already plays a role in the active award stage, indicating a robust engagement process. The Trust's focus on high-quality service delivery across its 8,000 student base makes this tender appealing to businesses with experience in catering for large educational institutions, including those that can offer both family-style dining and counter service formats. Companies able to fulfil these requirements under the Light Touch Regime may find substantial growth avenues within this procurement opportunity.

## Notice

The City of London Academies Trust (COLAT) is a highly successful Trust operating ten primary and secondary academies in London. Out of these, five have in-house services, four are outsourced and one Sixth Form, which is set to open next year, currently has no catering service. The Trust has approximately 8,000 students, ranging from 6 to 18 years old, supported by a team of 1,000 teaching and support staff. The Trust is tendering their catering services across three Lots in a two stage tender process under the Light Touch Regime:* Lot One includes three primary academies: COLA Primary Islington, Redriff and Galleywall. Annual sales turnover is PS513,716.* Lot Two has two secondary academies with family-style dining: COLA Shoreditch Park and The City Academy Hackney. Annual sales turnover is PS1,089,685.* Lot Three consists of five secondary academies with counter service: COLA Highgate Hill, Highbury Grove, Islington, Newham Collegiate Sixth Form (opening a new cafe by Septemb

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The City of London Academies Trust (COLAT) is a highly successful Trust operating ten primary and secondary academies in London. Out of these, five have in-house services, four are outsourced and one Sixth Form, which is set to open next year, currently has no catering service. The Trust has approximately 8,000 students, ranging from 6 to 18 years old, supported by a team of 1,000 teaching and support staff. The Trust is tendering their catering services across three Lots in a two stage tender process under the Light Touch Regime:* Lot One includes three primary academies: COLA Primary Islington, Redriff and Galleywall. Annual sales turnover is PS513,716.* Lot Two has two secondary academies with family-style dining: COLA Shoreditch Park and The City Academy Hackney. Annual sales turnover is PS1,089,685.* Lot Three consists of five secondary academies with counter service: COLA Highgate Hill, Highbury Grove, Islington, Newham Collegiate Sixth Form (opening a new cafe by September 2025) and COLA Southwark. Annual sales turnover is PS1,095,388. The catering services have an annual turnover in excess of PS2.6M must reflect the high aspirations of the trust and every Headteacher, and they are tendering their catering services to deliver the very best service for every student at the Trust. The contract start date is the 1st of August 2025 and this will be for an initial three-year period. There is an option for both parties to extend the contract for a further two years subject to client satisfaction and client agreement on budgets and service levels. The majority of staff in the catering teams of all three Lots have LGPS pensions.

Renewal: The contract is for an initial three year term. There is an option to extend the contract for a further two years subject to mutual agreement, based on strong financial and qualitative performance by mutual agreement.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017339-2026 |
| Notice type | Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Restricted procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 26 Feb 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 5 Nov 2024 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 23 Feb 2026 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £8,500,000 |
| Lots value | £8,500,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £2,650,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | CITY OF LONDON ACADEMIES TRUST CATERING TENDER |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | Central London |
| Postcode | EC2P 2EJ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI4 Inner London - East |
| ITL 3 | TLI43 Haringey and Islington |
| Local authority | Islington |
| Electoral ward | Clerkenwell |
| Westminster constituency | Islington South and Finsbury |
| Delivery location | TLI4 Inner London - East |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ASPENS SERVICES |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

### Codes

- 55524000 - School catering services

## Release History

- 26 Feb 2026 at 13:36 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017339-2026
- 3 Oct 2024 at 20:01 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031796-2024

## Notice URLs

- http://www.cohesionconsulting.co.uk
- https://in-tendhost.co.uk/cohesionconsulting/aspx/Home
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/cabinet-office/about/procurement

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04a5a9. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04a5a9.json.