---
title: "Pre-Market Engagement Exercise relating to Food and Drink Programme 2027-2029"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06efea"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06efea"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06efea.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06efea.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council"
published: "2026-09-01"
---

# Pre-Market Engagement Exercise relating to Food and Drink Programme 2027-2029

Buyer: Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06efea

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## Summary

Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council is preparing a Food and Drink Programme, procuring catering services from a supplier. The programme is intended to support the council’s food and drink activities through a service contract, with the potential scale and scope described as significant. Work will be delivered in the Lisburn and Castlereagh area of Northern Ireland. This is a service procurement rather than a goods supply or construction project. The relevant classification is CPV 55520000, catering services. Suppliers should therefore be involved in catering, food service or related food and drink programme delivery, and able to provide a service across the council’s area rather than a single one-off product.

This procurement is at the planning stage: the council has declared its intention to procure but has not yet invited tenders. It expects to use a dynamic purchasing system for one lot. The planned contract period is from 1 May 2027 to 31 March 2028, with renewal possible up to 31 March 2030. The procurement is above the applicable threshold. Before launching the procurement, the council is running a pre-market engagement exercise to test supplier interest. Interested businesses are expected to submit a questionnaire through the eTendersNI portal by 22 September 2026. This is an engagement exercise, not a tender deadline; the future competition will be initiated separately after the council has completed its preparation.

The process is likely to suit catering companies, food-service operators and other suppliers with the operational capacity to deliver a substantial food and drink programme for a public-sector customer. Relevant preparation includes demonstrating experience of planning and delivering catering or wider food and drink services, managing service delivery across the Lisburn and Castlereagh area, and responding to the requirements of a dynamic purchasing system. The council is specifically seeking to understand how much market interest exists before finalising the procurement, so suppliers can use the engagement stage to explain their capability, delivery model and likely interest in participating later. Businesses that can support a multi-year programme and adapt to the council’s eventual specification should monitor the next procurement stage.

## Notice

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council (LCCC) is currently preparing to initiate a procurement process to establish a contract with a Supplier for a Food and Drink Programme 2027 - 2029 The potential scale and scope of this service is such that it offers a significant opportunity to bidders. Prior to initiating the procurement, LCCC wishes to establish the level of market interest in participating in the procurement process through a Pre-Market Engagement (PME) exercise.

### Planning Information

Questionnaire to be submitted via the eTendersNI portal

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082829-2026 |
| Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice |
| Procurement type | Dynamic |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 1 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 22 Sep 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 May 2027 - 31 Mar 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planning |
| Lots status | Planning |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council |
| Locality | LISBURN |
| Postcode area | Northern Ireland |
| Postcode | BT27 4RL |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| ITL 1 | TLN Northern Ireland |
| ITL 2 | TLN0 Northern Ireland |
| ITL 3 | TLN0E Lisburn and Castlereagh |
| Local authority | Lisburn and Castlereagh |
| Electoral ward | Hillhall |
| Westminster constituency | Lagan Valley |
| Delivery location | TLN0E Lisburn and Castlereagh |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

### Codes

- 55520000 - Catering services

## Release History

- 1 Sep 2026 at 16:27 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082829-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082829-2026
  1st September 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- 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-06efea. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06efea.json.