Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
The Association of North East Councils Limited
Northern Design Centre
Gateshead
NE83DF
professional.services@nepo.org
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKC22 - Tyneside
Justification for not providing organisation identifier
Not on any register
Internet address(es)
Main address
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
NEPO407 Food & General Provisions
Reference number
NEPO407
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 15000000 - Food, beverages, tobacco and related products
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement at the time of conclusion of the contract:
The Association of North East Councils Trading as the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) Framework Contract Award for Food & General Provisions. The Solution will provide for the supply and distribution of food and general provisions to a variety of Contracting Authority establishments on behalf of NEPO Member Authorities and NEPO Associate Members, including but not limited to, schools and other Public-Sector catering premises.
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession
Duration in months
48
Section four. Procedure
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.1) Contract award notice concerning this contract
Notice number: 2019/S 195-473642
Section five. Award of contract/concession
Contract No
1
Lot No
1
Title
NEPO407 Food & General Provisions
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:
7 August 2019
five.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract/concession has been awarded to a group of economic operators: Yes
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Bestway Wholesale Limited
London
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
01207120
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Hopwells Limited
Nottingham
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
01404481
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
J Freeman and Sons t/a Freeman Catering Butchers
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
04285214
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
Yes
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Redbridge Produce and Flowers Limited t/a Total Produce
Spalding
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
03034745
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Brake Bros Limited
London
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
02035315
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
JR Holland Food Services Limited
Gateshead
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
03031294
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
Yes
five.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (at the time of conclusion of the contract;excluding VAT)
Total value of the procurement: £480,000,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
NEPO is a Central Purchasing Body as defined in the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR15). The agreement will be available for use by all NEPO members. A list of member organisations is available in the About section of the NEPO website www.nepo.org. Lot 1 of this agreement will also be made available to all current and future NEPO associate members throughout all administrative regions of the UK. Lots 2, 3 and 4 of this agreement will be made available to all current and future associate members throughout the North East Region. Current associate members are listed in the associate member section of the NEPO website at: www.nepo.org/associate-membership/list.
NEPO intends to make the resulting agreement available for use by all contracting authorities (as defined by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015) including but not limited to government departments and their agencies, non-departmental public bodies, central government, NHS bodies, local authorities, emergency services, coastguard emergency services, educational establishments, registered social Landlords and registered charities who have a need to purchase the above supplies. Please see the following websites for further details:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/Localcouncils/index.htm
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education
https://www.gov.uk/check-a-university-is-officially-recognised/recognised-bodies
http://www.schoolswebdirectory.co.uk/localauthorities.php
http://www.ukschoolsdirectory.net
https://www.gov.uk/find-school-in-england
https://education.gov.scot/ParentZone
https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development
http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/institutions/
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/workprovide/unicoll/heis/
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/workprovide/unicoll/fecs/
http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/AcuteTrustListing.aspx
http://www.wales.nhs.uk/nhswalesaboutus/structure
http://www.scottishambulance.com/TheService/organised.aspx
http://www.hscni.net/index.php?link=trusts
http://www.scottishambulance.com/AboutUs/HowWeOrganised.aspx
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/A-ZOfCentralGovernment/index.htm
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations
http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/gov.htm
http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/local-councils-in-northern-ireland
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/02/2421/1
https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/contact
https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/articles/list-public-bodies-which-ni-public-procurement-policy-applies
http://www.police-information.co.uk/index.html
http://www.psni.police.uk/index.htm
http://www.scotland.police.uk/
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency http://www.fireservice.co.uk/information/ukfrs
http://www.gov.scot/Topics/archive/law-order/Police/PoliceServiceofScotland
http://www.fire.org.uk/fire-brigades.html
http://www.nifrs.org/areas-districts/
http://www.firescotland.gov.uk/your-area.aspx
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/current-registered-providers-of-social-housing
http://directory.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk/pages/default.aspx
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/contacts/housing-associations
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/About_us/Regulation/Registering_charities_index.aspx
https://idea.org.uk/ http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/registerhomepage.aspx
http://www.sell2wales.gov.uk/Search/search_Auth.aspx
A complete list of permissible users is shown on the NEPO website below:
https://www.nepo.org/associate-membership/permissible-users
Further information can be found at: www.nepo.org
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Technology and Construction Court
London
Country
United Kingdom
Section seven: Modifications to the contract/concession
seven.1) Description of the procurement after the modifications
seven.1.1) Main CPV code
- 15000000 - Food, beverages, tobacco and related products
seven.1.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 15000000 - Food, beverages, tobacco and related products
seven.1.3) Place of performance
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
seven.1.4) Description of the procurement:
The Solution will provide for the supply and distribution of food and general provisions to a variety of Contracting Authority establishments on behalf of NEPO Member Authorities and NEPO Associate Members, including but not limited to, schools and other Public-Sector catering premises.
seven.1.5) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession
Start date
30 June 2026
End date
31 July 2027
seven.1.6) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot/concession:
£480,000,000
seven.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Bestway Wholesale Limited
London
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
01207120
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
seven.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Hopwells Limited
London
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
01404481
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
seven.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
J Freeman and Sons t/a Freeman Catering Butchers
Nottingham
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
04285214
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
Yes
seven.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Redbridge Produce and Flowers Limited t/a Total Produce
Gateshead
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
03034745
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
Yes
seven.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Brake Bros Limited
London
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
02035315
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
seven.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
JR Holland Food Services Limited
Gateshead
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
03031294
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
Yes
seven.2) Information about modifications
seven.2.1) Description of the modifications
Nature and extent of the modifications (with indication of possible earlier changes to the contract):
In accordance with regulation 72(1)(b) NEPO have made the decision to extend the arrangement from the existing end date of 30/6/2026 to 31/07/2027 as additional supplies have become necessary, and a change would create substantial duplication of costs and significant inconvenience.
seven.2.2) Reasons for modification
Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire.
Description of the economic or technical reasons and the inconvenience or duplication of cost preventing a change of contractor:
The current framework is utilised by North East Contracting Authorities only to supply food and produce in a range of environments, including pre-school, primary and secondary educational establishments, care facilities and Council operated sites.
The variation retains the existing provision and its original scope and safeguards the continuity of service for those Contracting Authorities utilising the solution.
NEPO has undertaken extensive market exploration following the withdrawal of a key supplier to this Framework to identify potential risks and inform its options appraisal. NEPO anticipate that the renewal of this Framework, alongside the wider renewal of all NEPO food solutions will result in a significantly different approach to food procurement for the region, and the future aggregation of requirements is essential to deliver long-term efficiencies and stability in supply. The variation to the term aligns all food Solutions to a concurrent expiry, ensuring future consolidation can be leveraged to achieve long term cost savings for the Public Sector. The variation reduces duplication and resource cost through multiple short-term arrangements, which limit value for money, require significant resource to migrate and implement, incur significant mobilisation costs and present barriers to supply feasibility for the market.
The primary users of the Framework are education establishments, which operate against academic years. To ensure that the Framework provides sufficient protection of supply for users, it is necessary to align the extension to academic years. A shorter term would disrupt term time and would incur significant additional cost and resource for contracting authorities in implementation and operations and would present risk to continuity of pre-planned menus, which consider user requirements and strict allergen control.
The value of the Framework remains unchanged and NEPO do not anticipate that additional supplies require variation of the published value. Notwithstanding, NEPO are satisfied the variation remains consistent with the applicable thresholds set out in Regulation 72(1)(b). The Framework provides no guarantee of any orders or value of goods and Contracting Authorities make no commitment of exclusivity or use.
NEPO is satisfied that the necessary additional supplies are critical to Contracting Authorities operation, and change would create substantial duplication and present a risk to both short term supply and the long-term sustainability of food provision for the Solutions end users.
NEPO intends to begin market engagement on the renewal of this Framework as a priority to ensure that the future iteration addresses the on-going risks to supply, reflects the changing dynamics of the supply market following a period of significant volatility, and adopts a structure which retains value for money while providing greater resilience.
A comprehensive phase of discovery, engagement and assessment will take place in response to the existing challenges. Suppliers will be encouraged to provide feedback on how the renewal could be shaped to encourage participation and achieve greater value for Contracting Authorities.
NEPO anticipates that market engagement will begin in Q1 2026, with an expected future Framework award in Q1 2027 to replace the existing solutions. This timescale will allow the appropriate scoping and options appraisal in the design of the solution as well as an appropriate period for the effective mobilisation of the solution. Interested Suppliers are advised to register at www.open-uk.org to receive future updates on activity.
NEPO intends to notify the market of future activity through the publication of a Pipeline notice in early 2026.
seven.2.3) Increase in price
Updated total contract value before the modifications (taking into account possible earlier contract modifications, price adaptions and average inflation)
Value excluding VAT: £480,000,000
Total contract value after the modifications
Value excluding VAT: £480,000,000