Aldridge Education - Tender for Catering Services

The successful supplier will be required to provide catering services for Aldridge Education at the following locations:

• Brighton Aldridge Community Academy,

• Portslade Aldridge Community Academy,

• Duke's Aldridge Academy,

• Darwen Aldridge Community Academy,

• Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio,

• Darwen Vale High School,

• Sudell Primary School,

• UTC@MediaCity.

Aldridge Education is a Multi-Academy Trust (the "Trust") established to fulfil the Aldridge ambition of growth through education. The Trust is running a catering services tender project covering 8 schools located across the North and the South of England and seeking to appoint supplier(s) with experience of working with schools of all types and sizes and delivering innovative ideas to provide exceptional catering to all our customers - students, teaching, support staff and our community users.

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

The contract being tendered is for 3 years in duration and will operate as a guaranteed performance contract, with the successful supplier offering the Trust 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 contract offered covers the scope for the provision of all catering services within the Trust, which currently includes breakfast, morning break, lunch, all hospitality and free issue requirements and any community user requirements. Free School Meals and hospitality will be charged based on consumption and at net food cost.

The Trust expects the successful supplier to enable the continued development of catering through the provision of an innovative, healthy food service, with fresh, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients being prepared on-site. The Trust expects the successful supplier to evidence, through their bid, how they shall support and complement its values.

The Trust are continually seeking ways to improve and develop the ethos and environment for students and staff, to give them the facilities they deserve and need to meet the challenges of the 21st Century; any consideration regarding inward capital investment as part of the supplier's ("Suppliers") tender submission would be welcomed. The Trust would wish for the supplier(s) to look at making investments that are tailored to our individual schools' needs; for example, investments to introduce throughput improvements and provide for satellite hubs in our larger secondary schools in the North.

Further information is provided in the SQ Document.

Additional information: Interest in the selection process should be expressed via email only to pqq@litmuspartnership.co.uk clearly stating within this email which contract / notice you are referring to. Please also provide, as a minimum, a contact name, full company postal address and telephone number.

The Selection Questionnaire and associated documents can be obtained at: https://litmuspartnership.co.uk/sq/aldridge-catering/

The closing date for receipt of the Selection Questionnaire is 9.4.2019 (12:00). Suppliers are required to ensure that documents are obtained and returned to The Litmus Partnership Limited, by email to pqq@litmuspartnership.co.uk by the above closing date and time.

Documents in respect of economic / financial standing (where indicated in the Selection Questionnaire) shall be returned to The Litmus Partnership Limited, by email to pqq@litmuspartnership.co.uk by the above closing date and time.

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.