Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
City of Glasgow College
190 Cathedral Street, Glasgow
Glasgow
G4 0RF
Contact
Danielle Gough
danielle.gough@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk
Telephone
+44 1413755617
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKM82 - Glasgow City
Internet address(es)
Main address
http://www.cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk/
Buyer's address
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA00453
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
one.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Education
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
The Provision of a Diverse and Sustainable Catering Service
Reference number
CS/CoGC/25/29
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 55520000 - Catering services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
City of Glasgow College is seeking an experienced and sustainably focussed catering provider to operate and develop food and beverage services for students, staff and visitors across its two campuses:
City Campus, 190 Cathedral Street, Glasgow, G4 0RF
Riverside Campus, 21 Thistle Street, Glasgow, G5 9XB
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £9,000,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKM82 - Glasgow City
Main site or place of performance
City of Glasgow College
City Campus - 190 Cathedral Street, Glasgow, G4 0RF
Riverside Campus - 21 Thistle Street, Glasgow, G5 9XB
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
City of Glasgow College seeks to appoint a forward-thinking, innovative and sector-leading Catering Provider to deliver a diverse, sustainable and inclusive catering service across both Campuses.
The successful bidder will provide catering for students, staff and visitors throughout the academic year, operating a multi-outlet service that is responsive to varying demand across campuses.
The Catering Service must be affordable, high quality and customer-focused, with standards that reflect best practice in ingredient quality, food safety, presentation, nutrition and customer service. The service is expected to deliver an attractive and modern catering offer aligned to student expectations and contemporary market trends.
Sustainability is a core theme of the contract. The successful bidder must embed sustainability throughout all aspects of service delivery, including food provenance, ethical and fair trade sourcing, animal welfare, sustainable fisheries, plant-forward menu development, biodiversity, energy usage, carbon management, reduction of single use plastics, and minimisation of food waste. The bidder will be expected to support the College’s wider sustainability and climate objectives and demonstrate continuous improvement over the life of the contract.
The contract places strong emphasis on generating meaningful social value and supporting the student experience. The successful bidder will be required to deliver added-value initiatives including modern apprenticeships, work placements, volunteering, employability activity, and collaboration with the Hospitality and Culinary Arts curriculum. Engagement with learners, including student led initiatives and menu development, will form a key element of contract performance.
The College intends to establish a collaborative partnership approach with the successful bidder, based on shared objectives, transparency and joint responsibility for improvement. The successful bidder will be responsible for the safe collection of waste oil, and will be required to adopt innovative waste and recycling practices to support carbon reduction objectives. General waste and mixed recycling services will be provided by the College.
The estimated contract value represents indicative projected turnover generated by the successful bidder from catering sales, based on historic trading data. It does not represent expenditure by the College.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: Implementation & Mobilisation / Weighting: 3%
Quality criterion - Name: Workforce Management (TUPE, Recruitment,Fair Work,EDI,Modern Slavery) / Weighting: 3%
Quality criterion - Name: Training, Competence & Development / Weighting: 3%
Quality criterion - Name: Contract Management & Governance / Weighting: 5%
Quality criterion - Name: KPI Management & Performance Monitoring / Weighting: 2.5%
Quality criterion - Name: Quality Assurance & Audit / Weighting: 2%
Quality criterion - Name: Operational Delivery - Vision & Approach / Weighting: 5%
Quality criterion - Name: Food Concepts & Menus / Weighting: 5%
Quality criterion - Name: Hospitality & Events (Inc. Summer Schools) / Weighting: 2%
Quality criterion - Name: Marketing & Promotion / Weighting: 2.5%
Quality criterion - Name: Technology & Innovation / Weighting: 2%
Quality criterion - Name: Continous Improvement & Service Excellence / Weighting: 3%
Quality criterion - Name: Customer Experience & Engagement / Weighting: 2%
Quality criterion - Name: Health, Nutrition & Wellbeing / Weighting: 2%
Quality criterion - Name: Sustainability & Net Zero Delivery / Weighting: 5%
Quality criterion - Name: Carbon Reduction & Reporting / Weighting: 3%
Quality criterion - Name: Community Benefits & Added Value / Weighting: 3%
Quality criterion - Name: Site Visit / Weighting: 2.5%
Quality criterion - Name: Presentation / Weighting: 2.5%
Cost criterion - Name: Total College Return / Weighting: 10
Cost criterion - Name: Tarriffs / Weighting: 15%
Cost criterion - Name: Hospitality / Weighting: 5%
Cost criterion - Name: Summer School / Weighting: 5%
Cost criterion - Name: Investment / Weighting: 5%
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start date
1 August 2026
End date
31 July 2030
This contract is subject to renewal
Yes
Description of renewals
24 Months
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
Section three. Legal, economic, financial and technical information
three.1) Conditions for participation
three.1.2) Economic and financial standing
List and brief description of selection criteria
List and brief description of selection criteria:
Please refer to Part 4 B Economic and Financial Standing of the SPD
The College will use the following ratios to evaluate a bidders financial status.
Bidders must confirm within their response to the relevant question within the 'Qualification Envelope' that as a minimum, 2 out of the 3 ratios can be met and what the value of each ratio is.
The three ratios to be evaluated are:
Profitability - this is taken as profit after tax but before dividends and minority interests. If a company makes a profit then it is a pass for this ratio.
Liquidity - this is calculated as current assets less stock and work in progress, divided by current liabilities. If the answer is greater than or equal to 'one' then it is a pass for this ratio.
Gearing - this is calculated as the total external secured borrowing (short term and long term) divided by shareholder funds expressed as a percentage. If the answer is less than or equal to 100% it is considered a pass for this ratio.
Where 2 out of 3 ratios cannot be met, the College may take the undernoted into consideration when assessing financial viability and the risk to the College, providing the bidder can supply evidence to substantiate any of the mitigating criteria. This list is not exhaustive and other criteria may be considered where proposed by a bidder as mitigating factors.
Would the bidder have passed the checks if prior year accounts had been used?
Were any of the poor appraisal outcomes 'marginal'?
Does the bidder operate in a market which, traditionally, requires lower liquidity or higher debt finance?
Does the bidder have sufficient reserves to sustain losses for a number of years?
Does the bidder have a healthy cash flow?
Is the bidder profitable enough to finance the interest on it's debt?
Is most of the bidders debt due to be repaid over a number of years and affordable?
Have the bidders results been adversely affected by 'one-off costs' and/or 'one-off' accounting treatments?
Do the bidders auditors (where applicable) consider it to be a 'going concern'?
Do keynote (where applicable) consider the bidder to be a 'going concern'?
Will the bidder provide a Parent Company Guarantee?
Is the bidder the single supplier/source of the Goods/Works/Services in the marketplace?
The College will obtain an Equifax Report or similar financial verification system to validate the information provided.
Bidders must confirm they can provide the following supporting evidence prior to award:
Employers (Compulsory) Liability Insurance = 10,000,000 GBP
Product and Public Liability Insurance = 10,000,000 GBP
Property/Equipment Insurance (or equivalent) - Sufficient cover for value of equipment in use
three.1.3) Technical and professional ability
List and brief description of selection criteria
Bidders will be required to confirm that they and/or the service provider have the following relevant educational and professional qualifications:
PVG Membership
three.2) Conditions related to the contract
three.2.2) Contract performance conditions
The bidder will be required to deliver a high quality affordable and inclusive catering service for students, staff and visitors and to monitor and continuously improve performance against agreed Key Performance Indicators. These will cover customer satisfaction, food quality, presentation, safety and hygiene, menu choice, queue management, waste reduction, ethical sourcing, carbon reduction, innovation and delivery of social value.
The bidder must demonstrate Fair Work Practices, including payment of no less than the Real Living Wage(as defined by the Living Wage Foundation).
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Open procedure
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date
4 February 2026
Local time
12:00pm
four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
English
four.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
Duration in months: 6 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
four.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date
4 February 2026
Local time
12:00pm
Place
City of Glasgow College
190 Cathedral Street
Glasgow
G4 0RF
Information about authorised persons and opening procedure
Danielle Gough, Procurement Coordinator - Estates and Facilities
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: Yes
Estimated timing for further notices to be published: 6 Years
six.2) Information about electronic workflows
Electronic ordering will be used
Electronic payment will be used
six.3) Additional information
Bidders may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Declarations and Certificates:
All certificates, declarations and questionnaires can be found within the Attachment area of PCS-T.
Appendix A - Form of Tender
Appendix B - Freedom of Information
Appendix C - Supply Chain Code of Conduct
Appendix E - PECOS Supplier Adoption Form
Appendix J - PVG Act Declaration
Appendix W - Declaration of Non-Involvement in Human Trafficking
Appendix X - Declaration of Non-Involvement in Serious Organised Crime
Appendix Y - Prompt Payment Certificate
In the case of an open tender this information will not be required to be uploaded and submitted with the bid, but will instead be requested by the College following the conclusion of the evaluation of the Qualification, Technical and Commercial Questionnaires and prior to the award of the tender.
Failure to provide this information or in the event that the information provided does not support or evidence the statements made within the Qualification Questionnaire, will invalidate any bid. In this scenario the College will seek to obtain the relevant information and evidence from the second highest scoring bidder and so on, and upon verification will award the contract to this bidder instead.
The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 30797. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343
A sub-contract clause has been included in this contract. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2363
Community benefits are included in this requirement. For more information see: https://www.gov.scot/policies/public-sector-procurement/community-benefits-in-procurement/
A summary of the expected community benefits has been provided as follows:
Provide a minimum of 8 Modern Apprenticeships and 50 work experience placements for College students or local residents.
Partner with curriculum teams to deliver guest lectures, mentoring, and live learning projects.
Collaborate with at least three local social enterprises or charities annually.
(SC Ref:818678)
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Glasgow Sheriff and Justice of The Peace Court
1 Carlton Place
Glasgow
G5 9DA
Country
United Kingdom