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The Litmus Partnership: Alban Academies Trust ~ Catering Tender

  The Litmus Partnership is using Delta eSourcing to run this tender exercise

Notice Summary
Title: Alban Academies Trust ~ Catering Tender
Notice type: Contract Notice
Authority: The Litmus Partnership
Nature of contract: Services
Procedure: Restricted
Short Description: The successful Supplier will be required to provide catering services for the Alban Academies Trust.
Published: 16/03/2022 17:00
Please note that the deadline for response to this opportunity has passed. However, you can still register or log-into the Delta eSourcing solution to prepare your Supplier Profile for future opportunities.

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UK-St Albans: School catering services.
Section I: Contracting Authority
      I.1) Name and addresses
             Alban Academies Trust
             The Ridgeway, St Albans, AL4 9NX, United Kingdom
             Tel. +44 1276673880, Email: tenders@litmuspartnership.co.uk
             Main Address: https://albanacademiestrust.org.uk/
             NUTS Code: UKH23
      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.3) Communication
      The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: https://litmustms.co.uk/tenders/UK-UK-St-Albans:-School-catering-services./F9633T44F7
      Additional information can be obtained from: the abovementioned address
      Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to the abovementioned address       
      Electronic communication requires the use of tools and devices that are not generally available. Unrestricted and full direct access to these tools and devices is possible, free of charge, at: Not provided
      I.4) Type of the contracting authority
            Body governed by public law
      I.5) Main activity
            Education

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
      II.1.1) Title: Alban Academies Trust ~ 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: The successful Supplier will be required to provide catering services for the Alban Academies Trust.       
      II.1.5) Estimated total value:
      Value excluding VAT: 1,750,340       
      Currency: GBP
      II.1.6) Information about lots:
      This contract is divided into lots: No       
   
II.2) Description
      
      II.2.2) Additional CPV codes:
      Not Provided       
      II.2.3) Place of performance:
      UKH23 Hertfordshire
      
      II.2.4) Description of procurement: The Alban Academies Trust serves primary and secondary schools in and near St. Albans. Our mission is to build a learning community that shares and promotes educational excellence for everyone. All members of the Trust are valued and able to make a powerful contribution to the on-going progress of improvement across the AAT.

The Trust currently comprises of five schools, three secondary schools: Ridgeway Academy, Sandringham School and Verulam School and three primary schools: Garden Fields JMI School, Wheatfields Infants’ and Nursery School and Wheatfields Junior School.

This catering tender is for the catering services at 2 schools – where this is a 2 + 3 contract. It is likely that a Trust wide catering contract to encompass the other secondary schools at least, will be run for 1st August 2024 – to align with the end dates of the current contracts at the other schools.

Schools included in this tender:

Ridgeway Academy

Ridgeway Academy is an 11-18 Mixed Secondary School with Academy status and is part of the Alban Academies Trust.

The school currently employs 116 teaching and support staff and has 902 students on roll )expected to rise to 952 next year) which includes 83 students in Sixth Form (expected to rise to 100 next year)

•Please be advised that the catering service is currently contracted to Edwards and Blake
•The total catering sales per annum at this school are: 2018/19 £185,793 (pre-pandemic)
•Our current year to date sales for Sept 21 to Feb 22 are £72,848.95 (March 21 to August 2021was £58,750)

Garden Fields

Garden Fields Junior Mixed and Infant School is in St. Albans and currently has 578 pupils ages 4 to 11 and approximately 80 members of staff. The school is reducing its PAN from 90 to 60 in September 2022 and for subsequent years due to lower local pupil numbers. The school went through an expansion from 2015 to 2021 increasing PAN from 60 to 90 each year.

•The school is currently using Herts Catering Ltd.
•The 2019 sales were £164275

Therefore the total annual sales are £350,068

Therefore the total value of the contract (annual sales x 5) = £1,750,340

The Tender

The tender project is seeking to appoint a Contractor whose initiative and innovation will be welcomed for the provision of service within the existing facilities of all schools, with a focus on exciting new food concepts to satisfy a wide range of pupil tastes and dietary requirements. The Schools would wish the successful contractor to review the current range of services offered and make recommendations accordingly.

The contract being tendered is for two years in duration from 1st August 2022 to 31st July 2024 with the option to extend for up to a further 3 years at the discretion of the client. However, it is very much expected that a Trust wide catering tender will be run to bring all schools into one catering contract for a new Trust contract for 1st August 2024.

This contract will operate as a Guaranteed Performance Contract, with the successful Contractor offering the School a guaranteed return / cost per annum for the provision of catering services. Sovereignty of the cash tariff is to remain with the Trust for the duration of this contract.

The School year at all schools is based on a calendar of 195 days. Five days are to be used for staff professional development which means that School will be open to receive students for the legal minimum of 190 days.

The contract offered covers the scope for the provision of all catering services within the School, which currently includes morning break, lunch, all hospitality and free issue requirements. Free School meals are to be charged with a margin attached and hospitality will be charged based on consumption and at net food cost.
Whilst the Trust prioritises value for money as a key objective of the Competitive Tender Process, it is not obliged to accept the lowest price.

See SQ Document for more information.
      II.2.5) Award criteria:
            Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents            
      II.2.6) Estimated value:
      Value excluding VAT: 1,750,340       
      Currency: GBP       
      II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system:
      Start: 01/08/2022 / End: 31/07/2027       
      This contract is subject to renewal: No       
      Description of renewals: Not provided
      II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited:
             Envisaged minimum number: 5
            / Maximum number: 10       
      Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates: A minimum of 5 suppliers and a maximum of 10 suppliers will be taken forward to the tender stage of the process. Where less than 5 suppliers meet the minimum standards, only those that meet the minimum standards will be taken through to the tender stage. Where more than 5 suppliers meet the minimum standard, those suppliers with the highest scores will proceed to the tender stage.
      II.2.10) Information about variants:
      Variants will be accepted: Yes
      II.2.11) Information about options:
      Options:       No             
      Description of options: Not provided
      II.2.12) Information about electronic catalogues:
      Tenders must be presented in the form of electronic catalogues or include an electronic catalogue: 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       
      Identification of the project: Not provided             
      II.2.14) Additional information: Not provided       


Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial And Technical Information
   III.1) Conditions for participation
      III.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
      List and brief description of conditions:          
      Not Provided       
      III.1.2) Economic and financial standing          
      Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents       
      List and brief description of selection criteria:       
      Not Provided    
      Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required (if applicable) :       
      Not Provided    
      III.1.3) Technical and professional ability    
      Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
      List and brief description of selection criteria:       
      Not Provided      
      Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required (if applicable) :          
      Not Provided   
      III.1.5) Information about reserved contracts (if applicable)   
      The contract is reserved to sheltered workshops and economic operators aiming at the social and professional integration of disabled or disadvantaged persons: No       
      The execution of the contract is restricted to the framework of sheltered employment programmes: No    
      
   III.2) Conditions related to the contract
      III.2.1) Information about a particular profession    
      Reference to the relevant law, regulation or administrative provision:          
      Not Provided    
      III.2.2) Contract performance conditions          
      Not Provided          
      III.2.3) Information about staff responsible for the performance of the contract
      Obligation to indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff assigned to performing the contract: No

Section IV: Procedure
   IV.1) Description RESTRICTED
      IV.1.1) Type of procedure: Restricted Acclerated   
      Justification for the choice of accelerated procedure: The current catering contract ends on 31 July 2022   
   IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system    
         The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement - NO        
         The procurement involves the setting up of a dynamic purchasing system - NO    
         In the case of framework agreements justification for any duration exceeding 4 years: Not Provided    
   
   
   IV.1.6) Information about electronic auction:
      An electronic auction will be used: No
      Additional information about electronic auction: Not provided
   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 OJ S: Not provided       
      IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
       Date: 14/04/2022 Time: 12:00
      IV.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates: 09/05/2022       
      IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: English,       
      IV.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender: Not Provided      
      

Section VI: Complementary Information
   VI.1) Information about recurrence
   This is a recurrent procurement: No    
   Estimated timing for further notices to be published: Not provided
   VI.2) Information about electronic workflows
   Electronic ordering will be used No       
   Electronic invoicing will be accepted No       
   Electronic payment will be used No       
   VI.3) Additional Information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.

It will be the supplier's responsibility to obtain any necessary documents in order to submit a response by the closing date and time.

The contracting authority reserves the right not to award any or part of the contract which is the subject of this contract notice and reserves the right to terminate the procurement process at any time.

The contracting authority will not be liable for any costs incurred by those expressing an interest in tendering for this contract opportunity.

The contracting authority will consider variant bids, evaluating them (so far as the variant or the evaluation of the variant is in the opinion of the contracting authority practicable) on the same basis as a conforming bid, but shall not be obliged to accept any such bid in preference to a conforming bid even if the variant bid scores more highly. No variant will be considered unless the bidder simultaneously submits a conforming bid.
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at:
https://litmustms.co.uk/tenders/UK-UK-St-Albans:-School-catering-services./F9633T44F7

To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
https://litmustms.co.uk/respond/F9633T44F7
   VI.4) Procedures for review
   VI.4.1) Review body:
             Alban Academies Trust
       The Ridgeway, St Albans, AL4 9NX, United Kingdom
   VI.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures:
Not provided
   VI.4.3) Review procedure
   Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:    
    Not Provided    
   VI.4.4) Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained:
Not provided
   VI.5) Date Of Dispatch Of This Notice: 16/03/2022

Annex A


View any Notice Addenda

View Award Notice

UK-St Albans: School catering services.

Section I: Contracting Authority

   I.1) Name, Addresses and Contact Point(s):
       Alban Academies Trust
       The Ridgeway, St Albans, AL4 9NX, United Kingdom
       Tel. +44 1276673880, Email: tenders@litmuspartnership.co.uk
       Main Address: https://albanacademiestrust.org.uk/
       NUTS Code: UKH23

   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: Alban Academies Trust ~ 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: The successful Supplier will be required to provide catering services for the Alban Academies Trust.

      II.1.6) Information about lots
         This contract is divided into lots: No
            
      II.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
          Value: 1,750,340
                  
         Currency:GBP            

   II.2) Description

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

      II.2.3) Place of performance
      Nuts code:
      UKH23 - Hertfordshire
   
      Main site or place of performance:
      Hertfordshire
             

      II.2.4) Description of the procurement: The Alban Academies Trust serves primary and secondary schools in and near St. Albans. Our mission is to build a learning community that shares and promotes educational excellence for everyone. All members of the Trust are valued and able to make a powerful contribution to the on-going progress of improvement across the AAT.

The Trust currently comprises of five schools, three secondary schools: Ridgeway Academy, Sandringham School and Verulam School and three primary schools: Garden Fields JMI School, Wheatfields Infants’ and Nursery School and Wheatfields Junior School.

This catering tender is for the catering services at 2 schools – where this is a 2 + 3 contract. It is likely that a Trust wide catering contract to encompass the other secondary schools at least, will be run for 1st August 2024 – to align with the end dates of the current contracts at the other schools.

Schools included in this tender:

Ridgeway Academy

Ridgeway Academy is an 11-18 Mixed Secondary School with Academy status and is part of the Alban Academies Trust.

The school currently employs 116 teaching and support staff and has 902 students on roll )expected to rise to 952 next year) which includes 83 students in Sixth Form (expected to rise to 100 next year)

•Please be advised that the catering service is currently contracted to Edwards and Blake
•The total catering sales per annum at this school are: 2018/19 £185,793 (pre-pandemic)
•Our current year to date sales for Sept 21 to Feb 22 are £72,848.95 (March 21 to August 2021was £58,750)

Garden Fields

Garden Fields Junior Mixed and Infant School is in St. Albans and currently has 578 pupils ages 4 to 11 and approximately 80 members of staff. The school is reducing its PAN from 90 to 60 in September 2022 and for subsequent years due to lower local pupil numbers. The school went through an expansion from 2015 to 2021 increasing PAN from 60 to 90 each year.

•The school is currently using Herts Catering Ltd.
•The 2019 sales were £164275

Therefore the total annual sales are £350,068

Therefore the total value of the contract (annual sales x 5) = £1,750,340

The Tender

The tender project is seeking to appoint a Contractor whose initiative and innovation will be welcomed for the provision of service within the existing facilities of all schools, with a focus on exciting new food concepts to satisfy a wide range of pupil tastes and dietary requirements. The Schools would wish the successful contractor to review the current range of services offered and make recommendations accordingly.

The contract being tendered is for two years in duration from 1st August 2022 to 31st July 2024 with the option to extend for up to a further 3 years at the discretion of the client. However, it is very much expected that a Trust wide catering tender will be run to bring all schools into one catering contract for a new Trust contract for 1st August 2024.

This contract will operate as a Guaranteed Performance Contract, with the successful Contractor offering the School a guaranteed return / cost per annum for the provision of catering services. Sovereignty of the cash tariff is to remain with the Trust for the duration of this contract.

The School year at all schools is based on a calendar of 195 days. Five days are to be used for staff professional development which means that School will be open to receive students for the legal minimum of 190 days.

The contract offered covers the scope for the provision of all catering services within the School, which currently includes morning break, lunch, all hospitality and free issue requirements. Free School meals are to be charged with a margin attached and hospitality will be charged based on consumption and at net food cost.
Whilst the Trust prioritises value for money as a key objective of the Competitive Tender Process, it is not obliged to accept the lowest price.

See SQ Document for more information.

      II.2.5) Award criteria:
       Not Provided

      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: Not Provided


Section IV: Procedure

IV.1) Description

   IV.1.1)Type of procedure: Restricted Accelerated
         Justification for the choice of accelerated procedure: The current catering contract ends on 31 July 2022

   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: 2022/S 000-007252
      
   

   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: 007252    
   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: 05/07/2022

      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: 4

      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor

      The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
         
         Contractor (No.1)
             Aspens Services Limited, 06561073
             Ground Floor, Teme House, Whittington Road, Whittington, Worcester, WR5 2RY, United Kingdom
             NUTS Code: UKG12
            The contractor is an SME: No

      V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
         Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: Not Provided          
         Total value of the contract/lot: 1,057,940
         Currency: GBP

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

   VI.3) Additional information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.
To view this notice, please click here:
https://litmustms.co.uk/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=710705377

   VI.4) Procedures for review

      VI.4.1) Review body
          Alban Academies Trust
          The Ridgeway, St Albans, AL4 9NX, 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: 03/08/2022