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Tenders

Rickmansworth School Catering Tender

Open
Deadline
116 days left
July 21, 2026
Contract Details
Category
Restricted Procedure
Reference
027072-2026
Value
£2,160,000
Location
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Published
March 20, 2026
Organization
CPV Code
Project Timeline

Tender Published

March 24, 2026

Deadline for Questions

July 14, 2026

Submission Deadline

July 21, 2026

Contract Start Date

July 21, 2026

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Budget
£2,160,000
Duration
36 months
Location
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire
Type
Restricted Procedure
75
Quality Score/100
Good

Original Tender Description

Rickmansworth School is a successful secondary school in Hertfordshire. The School is tendering its catering services with a contract start date of 1st August 2026. The initial term will run for three years, ending on 31st July 2029, with a requirement for termly and annual reviews and a break clause to support both parties should the relationship not prosper. There will be an option to extend for up to two further years (1+1) by mutual agreement, based on qualitative and financial performance. The current contract with Culinera has reached the maximum tenure of five years. The School is seeking a professional catering contractor who can deliver an excellent level of service, high-quality food and service enhancements, realistic and achievable sales targets and ongoing support to the School community throughout the contract. The projected turnover for the five-year contract is expected to be circa £2.5 million. The School is running this procurement as a Competitive Flexible, Two Stage, Light Touch Regime, Tender Process. To declare your interest in the tender and download contract documents (available free of charge), please register on https://in-tendhost.co.uk/cohesionconsulting/aspx/Home Once registered, please declare interest in the opportunity to access and download the full document set. In short, the School needs to be convinced that bidders can deliver their promises in full, achieve their sales projections, and meet their service enhancements. If the School is not convinced of this, it reserves the right to consider an insourced solution or make no award. Any investment proposals must align with DFE guidelines.

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Requirements & Qualifications

13 requirements across 5 categories

Submission (3)
Mandatory (1)
Compliance (5)
Technical (3)
Financial (1)
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS3
--Declare interest and download contract documents by registering on https://in-tendhost.co.uk/cohesionconsulting/aspx/Home.
--Once registered, declare interest in the opportunity to access and download the full document set.
--The School reserves the right to consider an insourced solution or make no award if not convinced of bidder's ability to deliver promises, achieve sales projections, and meet service enhancements.
MANDATORY EXCLUSION GROUNDS1
--Bidders must not be subject to mandatory exclusion grounds.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS5
--Must be a professional catering contractor.
--Must be able to deliver an excellent level of service, high-quality food, and service enhancements.
--Must be able to achieve realistic and achievable sales targets.
TECHNICAL CAPABILITY REQUIREMENTS3
--Must demonstrate the ability to deliver promises in full.
--Must demonstrate the ability to achieve projected sales targets.
--Must demonstrate the ability to meet service enhancement requirements.
FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS1
--Projected turnover for the five-year contract is expected to be circa £2.5 million.

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Documents

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Documents will appear here once they are downloaded and analyzed.

75
Good

Tender Quality Score

This tender for school catering services is generally well-structured, with clear objectives and a defined process. However, it lacks specific evaluation criteria and detailed documentation content, impacting completeness and clarity.

Score Breakdown

Legal Compliance75/100

The tender adheres to general procurement principles with a clear procedure and CPV code. Deadlines are provided, though the submission deadline relative to the contract start date might be tight. No disputes are noted. The procedure type (Competitive Flexible) is specified.

Clarity80/100

The description of services and objectives is clear, outlining expectations for quality, sales targets, and support. However, the absence of specified evaluation criteria makes it difficult for bidders to fully understand how their submissions will be assessed.

Missing evaluation criteria
Completeness70/100

Basic information such as title, reference, organization, value, and duration is present. However, the lack of available document content for review is a significant omission, preventing a full assessment of completeness.

No document content available
Fairness85/100

The tender is open to interested parties via registration on an e-procurement portal, which promotes fairness. The value is disclosed, and the process is competitive. There are no overtly tailored requirements to specific companies.

Practicality65/100

E-submission is facilitated through the provided portal. The contract start date is specified, and financing information is implied through the estimated value. However, the lack of detailed contract documents hinders practical planning for bidders.

No e-submission (direct link to upload, only registration)
Data Consistency90/100

Key fields such as title, reference, organization, value, and dates are populated. There are no noted suspensions or disputes. The dates provided are logically presented, although the submission deadline is close to the contract start date.

Sustainability50/100

There is no explicit mention of green procurement, social aspects, innovation, or EU funding, which are common elements in modern tenders. This suggests a lack of focus on these areas.

Not green procurement
No social criteria

Strengths

Clear description of service requirements
Use of e-procurement portal for registration
Defined contract duration and start date
CPV code provided

Concerns

Missing evaluation criteria
No document content available for review
Tight submission deadline relative to contract start date
Lack of sustainability considerations

Recommendations

1. Provide detailed evaluation criteria to enhance clarity and fairness.
2. Make full tender documents accessible after registration to improve completeness and practicality.

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