The Litmus Partnership: Thomas Mills High School ~ Catering Tender

UK-Framlingham: School catering services.

Section I: Contracting Authority

   I.1) Name, Addresses and Contact Point(s):
       Thomas Mills High School
       Saxtead Road, Framlingham, IP13 9HE, United Kingdom
       Tel. +44 1276673880, Email: tenders@litmuspartnership.co.uk
       Main Address: https://thomasmills.suffolk.sch.uk/
       NUTS Code: UKH14

   I.2) Joint procurement:
      The contract involves joint procurement: No          
      In the case of joint procurement involving different countries, state applicable national procurement law: Not Provided
      The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body: No

   I.4)Type of the contracting authority:
      Body governed by public law

   I.5) Main activity:
      Education

Section II: Object Of The Contract

   II.1) Scope of the procurement

      II.1.1) Title: Thomas Mills High School ~ Catering Tender            
      Reference number: Not Provided

      II.1.2) Main CPV code:
         55524000 - School catering services.


      II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES

      II.1.4) Short description: Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form is a flourishing 11-18 high school situated in the historic town of Framlingham, Suffolk. We set high expectations of our pupils and, together with our well-qualified staff, this leads to excellent teaching and learning.

      II.1.6) Information about lots
         This contract is divided into lots: No
            
      II.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
          Value: 1,371,687.8
                  
         Currency:GBP            

   II.2) Description

      II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s):
      Not Provided

      II.2.3) Place of performance
      Nuts code:
      UKH14 - Suffolk
   
      Main site or place of performance:
      Suffolk
             

      II.2.4) Description of the procurement: Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form is a flourishing 11-18 high school situated in the historic town of Framlingham, Suffolk. We set high expectations of our pupils and, together with our well-qualified staff, this leads to excellent teaching and learning.
Pupils travel to the school from across east and central Suffolk, as well as south Norfolk, to experience an academic education of high quality. The school is presenting an exciting opportunity to partner with a Supplier who is able to deliver their vision of promoting the health and wellbeing of their circa 1030 pupils and 100 staff through the catering provision. Current catering sales revenue is around £300k per
annum, but there is considerable upside thought possible with some potential investment in the catering infrastructure.
The Client would like to see innovative delivery of emerging food trends that are seen on the high-street and in supermarkets that pupils frequent and therefore need to be reflective in the school dining environment. There is a need to maximise sales and uptake – this can be achieved by offering a dynamic and bespoke food offering at morning break and lunchtime.
The ITT will investigate the addition of a breakfast service and the anticipated impact that this may make.
The key areas of focus for the successful service provider will include;
Fresh and innovative menus that are nutritionally balanced and appealing;
The best use of local seasonal produce;
Efficient and consistent speed of service with great customer interaction;
Sustainable solutions for food packaging;
Catering staff integration with the School community and support with Curriculum
activities.
Identifying and potential funding of appropriate additions to the existing offer notably in
terms of potentially funding and sourcing a new 6th form/ teacher facing offer in the 6th
form hub
The Client expects the successful Supplier to evidence, through their bid, how they will
deliver these focus areas.
The existing team have resilience and consistency in day to day production, but in order to produce the innovative and dynamic food offer required they will need to be supported by an engaged operational team that can demonstrate and upskill menu content to provideservices that meet expectation.
Aside from the food, the environment in which the pupils engage with the catering offer is adequate but lacks some definition and merchandising, so the catering partners will need to consider what the requirements are to drive the whole pupil experience in the dining hall and other service areas.
With a contract start date of Summer 2025, the Supplier will need to consider how they will manage the mobilisation and launch the service in what should be an adequate mobilisation timetable.
The Client is seeking a catering service partner that has the ability and appetite to work flexibly and with complete transparency to deliver an exceptional standard of service and take on the development of a loyal and dedicated team. The contract will be for an initial three year-term, (with likely potential for further extension), Litmus are in the process of concluding a consumer insight survey which looks in detail into current levels of satisfaction of the pupils of all ages and the staff, this data and insight report will feature in the ITT data for those shortlisted.
The catering tender presents an exciting time for the School and the Client is looking forwardn to developing a successful partnership with a service provider demonstrating the right
cultural fit as well as hunger and appetite continuous improvement.

      II.2.5) Award criteria:
                  
      Cost criterion - Name: Quality / Weighting: 100
            

      II.2.11) Information about options
         Options: No
         

      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
         The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
         

      II.2.14) Additional information: Please note, this is a Contract Award Notice, this contract has already been awarded.


Section IV: Procedure

IV.1) Description

   IV.1.1)Type of procedure: Restricted


   IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
      The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement: No       
      A dynamic purchasing system was set up: No

   IV.1.6) Information about electronic auction
      An electronic auction has been used: No

   IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
      The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

IV.2) Administrative information

   IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
       Notice number in the OJEU: 2024/S 000-034075
      
   

   IV.2.9) Information about termination of call for competition in the form of a prior information notice
      The contracting authority will not award any further contracts based on the above prior information notice: No

Section V: Award of contract

Award Of Contract (No.1)

   Contract No: Not Provided    
   Lot Number: Not Provided    
   Title: Not Provided

   A contract/lot is awarded: Yes


   V.2) Award of contract

      V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract: 03/04/2025

      V.2.2) Information about tenders
         Number of tenders received: 4
         Number of tenders received from SMEs: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received by electronic means: Not Provided

      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor

      The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
         
         Contractor (No.1)
             Lunchtime Co Ltd, 03452446
             10 Barnwell House, Barnwell Drive, Cambridge, CB5 8UU, United Kingdom
             NUTS Code: UKH12
            The contractor is an SME: Yes

      V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
         Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: 1,500,000          
         Total value of the contract/lot: 1,371,687.8
         Currency: GBP

      V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
         The contract is likely to be subcontracted: No
         
Section VI: Complementary information

   VI.3) Additional information: To view this notice, please click here:
https://litmustms.co.uk/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=941801180
   VI.4) Procedures for review

      VI.4.1) Review body
          Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form
          Saxtead Road, Framlingham, Suffolk, IP13 9HE, United Kingdom

      VI.4.3) Review procedure
         Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures: Not Provided

      VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
         Not Provided

   VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice: 15/04/2025