---
title: "Provision of Patient & Retail Catering Services - Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust (Interim Arrangement)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-068b1f"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-068b1f"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-068b1f.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-068b1f.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "KINGSTON AND RICHMOND HOSPITAL NHS FOUNDATION TRUST"
published: "2026-04-24"
---

# Provision of Patient & Retail Catering Services - Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust (Interim Arrangement)

Buyer: KINGSTON AND RICHMOND HOSPITAL NHS FOUNDATION TRUST  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-068b1f

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## Summary

The Kingston and Richmond Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is managing a critical procurement process for "Provision of Patient & Retail Catering Services" under an interim arrangement. This contract aims to ensure continuous patient and retail catering services, fostering safe and legally compliant patient care. With the current agreement expiring, a direct award procedure is necessitated due to urgent timelines caused by the incumbent's sudden withdrawal. Scheduled for a 12-month term with a possible 6-month extension, the direct award was initiated on 23 April 2026, with services set to commence on 26 April 2026 across Kingston Upon Thames, London. The procurement falls under the 'services' category, employing a swift mobilisation strategy given the extreme urgency identified under Paragraph 13 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023.

This procurement presents substantial opportunities for businesses specialising in catering services. Large enterprises like Mitie FM Limited, who are experienced in rapid mobilisation, would be well-suited to bid in future competitive rounds when a long-term contract is tendered. The urgent nature of this procurement highlights the growing demand and reliance on timely service delivery, thereby offering potential growth avenues for businesses willing to adapt swiftly to evolving procurement landscapes. Organisations with expertise in handling compressed mobilisation periods and transitioning workforce within tight schedules can leverage this contract stage to showcase their capabilities and establish strong industry precedents.

## Notice

The contract covers the provision of patient and retail catering services, including food preparation, service delivery and associated operational support services required to maintain continuity of catering services across the Trust's estate. The Trust will award this contract using a direct award procedure in accordance with section 41 and paragraph 13 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023, which permits direct award in cases of extreme and unavoidable. The services covered by this contract are strictly necessary to ensure continuity of critical patient and retail catering services at Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust. Indeed, Patient catering is fundamental to the Trust's delivery of safe, effective and legally compliant patient care. The Trust's current catering contract was placed in 2023. In anticipation of its expiry, the Trust devised a compliant procurement strategy centred on a call-off competition under an existing framework agreement for patient and retail catering. Whilst a change in scoping requirements necessitated the cancellation of the initial call-off competition, the Trust acted promptly by launching a replacement competition at the earliest opportunity. Throughout both competitions, the Trust had reasonably envisaged securing a short extension with the incumbent to bridge the period until mobilisation of a new provider, and discussions had progressed positively to that end. However, on 13 April 2026 the incumbent notified the Trust that it would not agree to an extension and would cease delivering services with effect from 26 April 2026. Given this extremely compressed timeframe, it was not possible to conduct a compliant procurement and mobilise a replacement provider. The Trust accordingly cancelled the call-off competition without award and must now make a direct award to safeguard continuity of essential services. The direct award is for patient and retail catering and is limited in duration to 12+6 months, being the minimum period necessary to maintain continuity of services whilst the Trust conducts a fully compliant competitive procurement for a longer-term contract. The conditions for reliance on the urgency ground under Paragraph 13 of Schedule 5 are satisfied: (a) the incumbent's withdrawal at extremely short notice has created a genuine and immediate need to secure continuity of patient catering, without which the Trust would be exposed to serious risks to patient safety and potential breach of its statutory and regulatory obligations; (b) the timeframe within which a replacement provider must be appointed is insufficient to permit any form of competitive tendering, whether under the Procurement Act 2023 or by way of call-off under an existing framework; and (c) the urgency is not attributable to the Trust's conduct; the Trust took all reasonable steps to procure the services compliantly (including seeking to secure a short extension). The need for a direct award has arisen as, notwithstanding the Trust's efforts to agree an extension, and there being reasonable grounds on which the Trust expected that such an extension would be agreed, the incumbent unexpectedly decided not to extend the existing contract. The direct award will be made on 23 April 2026 to accommodate immediate mobilisation and service commencement, subject to agreement of Heads of Terms. Full terms and conditions governing the contract will be finalised within 4 weeks.

### Procurement Information

Patient catering is fundamental to the Trust's delivery of safe, effective and legally compliant patient care. The Trust's current catering contract was placed in 2023. In anticipation of its expiry, the Trust devised a compliant procurement strategy centred on a call-off competition under an existing framework agreement for patient and retail catering. Whilst a change in scoping requirements necessitated the cancellation of the initial call-off competition, the Trust acted promptly by launching a replacement competition at the earliest opportunity. Throughout both competitions, the Trust had reasonably envisaged securing a short extension with the incumbent to bridge the period until mobilisation of a new provider, and discussions had progressed positively to that end. However, on 13 April 2026 the incumbent notified the Trust that it would not agree to an extension and would cease delivering services with effect from 26 April 2026. Given this extremely compressed timeframe, it was not possible to conduct a compliant procurement and mobilise a replacement provider. The Trust accordingly cancelled the call-off competition without award and must now make a direct award to safeguard continuity of essential services. The direct award is for patient and retail catering and is limited in duration to 12+6 months, being the minimum period necessary to maintain continuity of services whilst the Trust conducts a fully compliant competitive procurement for a longer-term contract. The conditions for reliance on the urgency ground under Paragraph 13 of Schedule 5 are satisfied: (a) the incumbent's withdrawal at extremely short notice has created a genuine and immediate need to secure continuity of patient catering, without which the Trust would be exposed to serious risks to patient safety and potential breach of its statutory and regulatory obligations; (b) the timeframe within which a replacement provider must be appointed is insufficient to permit any form of competitive tendering, whether under the Procurement Act 2023 or by way of call-off under an existing framework; and (c) the urgency is not attributable to the Trust's conduct; the Trust took all reasonable steps to procure the services compliantly. This included seeking to secure a short extension albeit that it was ultimately unable to do so. The direct award will be made on 23 April 2026 to accommodate immediate mobilisation and service commencement, subject to agreement of Heads of Terms. Full terms and conditions governing the contract will be finalised within 4 weeks.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037787-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 24 Apr 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 23 Apr 2026 |
| Contract period | 25 Apr 2026 - 25 Apr 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £5,800,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | KINGSTON AND RICHMOND HOSPITAL NHS FOUNDATION TRUST |
| Locality | KINSTON UPON THAMES |
| Post town | Kingston upon Thames |
| Postcode | KT2 7QB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI6 Outer London - South |
| ITL 3 | TLI63 Merton, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton |
| Local authority | Kingston upon Thames |
| Electoral ward | Coombe Hill |
| Westminster constituency | Richmond Park |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | MITIE FM |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

### Codes

- 55500000 - Canteen and catering services

## Release History

- 24 Apr 2026 at 16:16 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037787-2026
- 24 Apr 2026 at 16:11 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037783-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037787-2026
  24th April 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037783-2026
  24th April 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.mitie.com
- https://www.kingstonhospital.nhs.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-068b1f. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-068b1f.json.