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City of London Academies Trust Catering

City of London Academies Trust Catering Tender · award, contract

Tender information last checkedLast checked 4 Oct 2026, 18:07.

Opportunity overview

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 £513,716.• Lot Two has two secondary academies with family-style dining: COLA Shoreditch Park and The City Academy Hackney. Annual sales turnover is £1,089,685.• Lot Three consists of five secondary academies with counter service: COLA Highgate Hill, Highbury Grove, Islington, Newham Collegiate Sixth Form (opening a new café by Septemb

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Aspens Services Limited

Matched by normalised name
Contract value
£2.7m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
23 Feb 2026
Award ID
017339-2026-CCL_034-1
Status
active
Location
London, UKI42, United Kingdom

Classification

  • CPV55524000 — School catering services

Lots

  • 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 £513,716.• Lot Two has two secondary academies with family-style dining: COLA Shoreditch Park and The City Academy Hackney. Annual sales turnover is £1,089,685.• Lot Three consists of five secondary academies with counter service: COLA Highgate Hill, Highbury Grove, Islington, Newham Collegiate Sixth Form (opening a new café by September 2025) and COLA Southwark. Annual sales turnover is £1,095,388. The catering services have an annual turnover in excess of £2.6M 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.Value not stated

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
CCL_034
Status
complete
Main Procurement Category
services
Procurement Method
selective
Procurement Method Details
Restricted procedure

Legal basis

Id
32014L0024
Scheme
CELEX

Classification

Scheme
CPV
Id
55524000
Description
School catering services

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Description
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 £513,716.• Lot Two has two secondary academies with family-style dining: COLA Shoreditch Park and The City Academy Hackney. Annual sales turnover is £1,089,685.• Lot Three consists of five secondary academies with counter service: COLA Highgate Hill, Highbury Grove, Islington, Newham Collegiate Sixth Form (opening a new café by September 2025) and COLA Southwark. Annual sales turnover is £1,095,388. The catering services have an annual turnover in excess of £2.6M 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.
Has Options
No
Status
cancelled

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Type
price

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
55524000
Description
School catering services

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKI4

Delivery Location

Description
Primary and Secondary Academies in Hackney, Islington, Southwark and Newham.

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
City of London Academies Trust Catering Tender
Id
GB-FTS-125927

Identifier

Legal Name
City of London Academies Trust Catering Tender

Address

Street Address
Gresham Street
Locality
London
Region
UKI44
Postal Code
EC2P 2EJ
Country Name
United Kingdom

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Id
BODY_PUBLIC
Description
Body governed by public law
Entry 2
Scheme
COFOG
Id
09
Description
Education
Organisation 2
Name
Aspens Services Limited
Id
GB-FTS-175495

Identifier

Legal Name
Aspens Services Limited

Address

Street Address
10 Beaufort Way
Locality
London
Region
UKI42
Country Name
United Kingdom

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Organisation 3
Name
The Cabinet Office
Id
GB-FTS-1954

Identifier

Legal Name
The Cabinet Office

Address

Street Address
70 Whitehall
Locality
London
Postal Code
SW1A 2AS
Country Name
United Kingdom

Contact

Telephone
+44 2072761234

Roles

reviewBody

Details

Organisation 4
Name
Cohesion Consulting Ltd
Id
GB-FTS-78436

Identifier

Legal Name
Cohesion Consulting Ltd

Address

Street Address
16 Mount Pleasant
Locality
Tunbridge Wells
Postal Code
TN1 1QU
Country Name
United Kingdom

Contact

Roles

mediationBody

Details

Award information

Award 1
Id
017339-2026-CCL_034-1
Title
City of London Academies Trust Catering Tender
Status
active

Related lots

1

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-FTS-175495
Name
Aspens Services Limited

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
017339-2026-CCL_034-1
Award ID
017339-2026-CCL_034-1
Title
City of London Academies Trust Catering Tender
Status
active
Date Signed
23 Feb 2026, 00:00

Value

Amount
2,650,000
Currency
GBP

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · London · UKI44 · EC2P 2EJ · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKI4

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. 017339-2026award, contract ·