AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Embrace Multi Academy Trust awarded its outsourced catering service contract to ASPENS-SERVICES LIMITED. The published contract record states that it was signed on 8 October 2026, runs to 31 July 2029, and has a stated net value of £3.0m (£3.6m gross).
Published outcomeASPENS-SERVICES LIMITED is the sole published supplier for award 1, covering lot LOT-0000 for catering services.
Market significanceThis is a multi-year school catering services contract in the East Midlands, with up to two one-year extensions and an option to add schools.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
ASPENS-SERVICES LIMITED
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots LOT-0000 · £3,000,000 net; £3,600,000 gross GBP · Verified supplier; active award and contract
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Supplier is verified by Companies House number 06561073. Award 1 names ASPENS-SERVICES LIMITED and relates to LOT-0000. Contract 1 value is GBP 3,000,000 net and GBP 3,600,000 gross.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Procurement procedure
99% confidenceOpen procedure
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Tender procurementMethodDetails: Open procedure.
Award decision
94% confidenceAward 1 recorded as active on 20 April 2026
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Award record: status active; award_date 2026-04-20.
Contract conclusion
99% confidenceSigned on 8 October 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned: 2026-10-08.
Contract status
98% confidenceActive
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Contract 1 status: active.
Contract details publication
99% confidence14 October 2026
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Contract details notice datePublished: 2026-10-14.
VALUES
Published values explained
Published contract value (net)
99% confidence£3,000,000
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Contract 1 value.amount: 3000000 GBP.
Published contract value (gross)
99% confidence£3,600,000
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Contract 1 value.amountGross: 3600000 GBP.
Value allocation
95% confidenceSingle published award and single lot; the contract-level value is reported for this award.
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One award, one supplier and related lot LOT-0000 are published.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Tender notice published
99% confidence19 January 2026
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Release history: Tender notice on Find a Tender released 2026-01-19.
Award notice published
99% confidence21 April 2026
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Release history: Contract award notice released 2026-04-21.
Award date
94% confidence20 April 2026
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Award 1 award_date: 2026-04-20.
Contract signed
99% confidence8 October 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned: 2026-10-08.
Contract start
99% confidence8 October 2026
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Contract 1 period.startDate: 2026-10-08.
Initial contract end
99% confidence31 July 2029
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Contract 1 period.endDate: 2029-07-31.
Maximum extent date
99% confidence31 July 2031
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Contract 1 period.maxExtentDate: 2031-07-31.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Service
98% confidenceOutsourced catering service, including food and staff provision
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Tender description states the contract includes all food and staff provision to deliver the service requirement.
Procurement category
99% confidenceServices
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Award 1 mainProcurementCategory: services.
Classification
99% confidenceCPV 55520000 — Catering services
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Award item additional classification: CPV 55520000, Catering services.
Lot structure
98% confidenceOne published lot: LOT-0000
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Tender and award records identify LOT-0000; no lot title or description is published.
Delivery area
95% confidenceUKF2, East Midlands
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Award item deliveryAddresses region: UKF2.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceOpen procedure
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Tender procurementMethod and procurementMethodDetails state open/Open procedure.
Competition information
99% confidenceNumber of tenders and evaluation results not supplied in the published notice.
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No bid-count, score, ranking or evaluation-detail fields are provided.
Awarded supplier
99% confidenceOne supplier is published for the sole award.
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Award 1 lists one supplier, ASPENS-SERVICES LIMITED.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Initial term
99% confidence8 October 2026 to 31 July 2029
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Contract 1 period startDate and endDate.
Extensions
99% confidenceTwo further one-year extensions (3+1+1)
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Contract 1 renewal description: Two further one year extensions (3+1+1).
Maximum duration endpoint
99% confidence31 July 2031
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Contract 1 maxExtentDate: 2031-07-31.
Options
97% confidenceAdditional purchases may be made during the contract, including additional schools.
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Contract 1 options description states the right to additional purchases and inclusion of additional schools.
Performance measures
98% confidencePublished measures cover meal uptake, delivery timeliness, food quality, customer satisfaction, nutritional standards and health and safety compliance.
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Contract 1 agreedMetrics lists six measures, including 95% meal uptake, 95% delivery timeliness, 98% food quality compliance and 100% health and safety compliance.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial structure
98% confidenceA £3.0m net, multi-year catering contract with extension capacity and an option to include additional schools.
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Contract value, period, renewal and options fields.
Service delivery focus
98% confidencePublished performance measures place emphasis on meal uptake, timeliness, quality, satisfaction, nutritional standards and health and safety.
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Contract agreedMetrics.
Value interpretation
99% confidenceThe notice does not publish a pricing schedule, unit prices, school-level allocation or a breakdown between food and staffing.
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier identity quality
99% confidenceVerified
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Supplier matched to Companies House number 06561073 by company number; verified legal name is ASPENS-SERVICES LIMITED.
Award-to-contract timing
99% confidenceAward date and signed/start date differ
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Award date is 20 April 2026; contract dateSigned and startDate are 8 October 2026. Both are reported as published.
Lot detail
99% confidenceLot title, description and individual lot value are not supplied.
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LOT-0000 is published without title, description or value.
Competition and evaluation detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
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No tender count, bidder identities, scoring, ranking or award rationale is provided.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- Lot-0000 has no published title, description or individual value.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: number of bids, evaluation scores, award rationale, pricing schedule and school-level service allocation.
- The published option to add schools does not state whether it will be exercised or its financial effect.
- The extension provisions permit, but do not confirm, continuation beyond the initial end date.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Embrace Multi Academy TrustASPENS-SERVICES LIMITEDoutsourced catering contractschool catering servicescatering servicesFind a Tender
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Embrace Multi Academy Trust catering contract?
ASPENS-SERVICES LIMITED, verified against Companies House number 06561073, is the sole published supplier for award 1.
What is the value of the contract?
The published contract value is £3,000,000 net and £3,600,000 gross.
When does the contract run until?
The initial published end date is 31 July 2029. Two one-year extensions may take the maximum extent to 31 July 2031.
Has the contract been signed?
Yes. The contract record explicitly gives a signed date of 8 October 2026.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.