Contract awarded

Food and Catering Supplies for Ark Schools Across the UK.

Ark
Open procedure
31 August 2026 to 31 July 2029

Supply of grocery, frozen, butchery, fruit and vegetable, chilled, and non-food items to 32 academy kitchens across London, Birmingham, Portsmouth, and Hastings. The contract is managed by a central procurement agent, requiring consolidated invoicing and system-based ordering across all sites.

Open the official notice

Awarded value: £19.5m; As published
Published: 29 April 2026
Awarded: 29 July 2026; Holdsworth Foods
Contract length: 35 months; Ends 31 July 2029

What the contract covers

Single-supplier lot

Provision of food products, catering consumables, and associated kitchen supplies to a multi-academy trust across multiple UK locations.

Grocery and Provisions
Frozen goods
Butchery
Fruit and Vegetables
Chilled items
Non-Food items

Lot	Estimated value	SMEs
Lot 1	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 2	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 3	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 4	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 5	Not stated	Not stated
Lot 6	Not stated	Not stated

Terms and requirements

Contract type: Single-supplier lot
Procedure: Open procedure
Initial term: 36 months
Extensions: 24 months
Longest it can run: 60 months
Contract dates: 31 August 2026 to 31 July 2029
Certifications asked for: None stated
Lots: 6
Suitable for SMEs: Yes
Category: Goods
CPV codes: 15000000, 15800000, 15890000, 15110000

Services in this contract

Ambient groceries and dry goods supplyMain service£600k typicalGrocery and provisions lot for 32 academy kitchens
Fresh fruit and vegetables supply£300k typicalFruit and vegetable lot
Fresh meat and poultry supply£255k typicalButchery lot
Frozen and chilled food supply£1.1m typicalFrozen goods and chilled items lots

Lifecycle

Published
29 April 2026
Contract awardedto Holdsworth Foods
29 July 2026
Contract starts
31 August 2026
Contract ends
31 July 2029

The buyer

Ark

Type: Locked
Contracts, 24 months: Locked
Recorded value: Locked
Typical contract: Locked

Buys most

Contact details

Name: Locked
Email: Locked
Phone: Locked
Address: Locked

See everything Ark buys

The supplier

Holdsworth Foods

Contracts won, 24 months: Locked
Value won, 24 months: Locked
Buyers, 24 months: Locked
Size: Locked
Companies House number: Locked

Main buyers

See everything Holdsworth Foods has won

Cite this contract

Link: https://bidskim.com/tender/3457363/food-and-catering-supplies-for-ark-schools-across-the-uk
Buyer reference: 2 - Food
Open contracting ID: ocds-h6vhtk-068e77
Last checked: 5 November 2026

Ark. Food and Catering Supplies for Ark Schools Across the UK. Contract award, 29 April 2026. BidSkim, https://bidskim.com/tender/3457363/food-and-catering-supplies-for-ark-schools-across-the-uk (accessed 5 November 2026).