City of London Academies Trust Catering

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.