Mitie FM Limited Awarded £5.8M NHS Catering Contract Under Emergency Direct Award
Summary
Mitie FM Limited has been awarded a direct contract for patient and retail catering services at Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust, valued at £5,800,000 excluding VAT (£6,960,000 including VAT). The contract runs from 26 April 2026 to 25 April 2027, with a possible 6-month extension to 25 October 2027. The direct award was justified under extreme and unavoidable urgency after the incumbent provider gave only 12 days' notice on 13 April 2026 that it would cease services, making competitive procurement impossible. The trust identified key risks including compressed mobilisation time and workforce transfer challenges.
“The direct award is for patient and retail catering and is limited in duration to 12+6 months, being the minimum period necessary to maintain continuity of services whilst the Trust conducts a fully compliant competitive procurement for a longer-term contract.”
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What changed
The contracting authority has awarded a direct contract for catering services to Mitie FM Limited under the extreme urgency ground of the Procurement Act 2023. The contract value of £5,800,000 (excluding VAT) covers a 12-month initial term with a 6-month extension option, running from 26 April 2026. The direct award justification states that the incumbent withdrew with only 12 days' notice on 13 April 2026, preventing compliant competitive procurement.
Healthcare providers and public-sector procurement professionals should note the risk factors identified: compressed mobilisation timelines, workforce transfer challenges, and operational handover risks during the transition period. Trusts and NHS procurement bodies should review their own contingency arrangements for similar single-source dependency situations and ensure their procurement strategies include provisions for short-term bridging arrangements where incumbent contracts are at risk of non-renewal.
Archived snapshot
Apr 24, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Award
Provision of Patient & Retail Catering Services - Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust (Interim Arrangement)
- Kingston and Richmond Hospital NHS Foundation Trust UK5: Transparency notice - Procurement Act 2023 - view information about notice types
Notice identifier: 2026/S 000-037783
Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-068b1f (view related notices)
Published 24 April 2026, 5:11pm
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Contents
Scope Contract 1. Provision of Patient & Retail Catering Services - Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust (Interim Arrangement) Other information Procedure Supplier Contracting authority
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Reference
W179204
Description
The contract covers the provision of patient and retail catering services at Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust including food preparation, service delivery and associated operational support services required to maintain continuity of catering services across the Trust's estate.
Contract 1. Provision of Patient & Retail Catering Services - Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust (Interim Arrangement)
Supplier
Contract value
- £5,800,000 excluding VAT
- £6,960,000 including VAT Above the relevant threshold
Earliest date the contract will be signed
24 April 2026
Contract dates (estimated)
- 26 April 2026 to 25 April 2027
- Possible extension to 25 October 2027
- 1 year, 6 months
Description of possible extension:
One 6-month extension option
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
Canteen and catering services
Description of risks to contract performance
The contract is being implemented within a compressed mobilisation period to ensure continuity of essential catering services.
Key risks to contract performance include:
Reduced mobilisation time which may impact initial service stabilisation and performance in the early stages of the contract;
Transition of services, including workforce transfer and operational handover arrangements;
Availability and accuracy of operational and workforce information during the transition period;
Alignment of service delivery processes, systems and supply arrangements following contract commencement; and
Variability in demand and activity levels during the initial phase of service delivery.
The contracting authority will actively manage these risks through ongoing contract management and performance monitoring to support service continuity
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure type
Direct award
Direct award justification
Extreme and unavoidable urgency
Patient catering is fundamental to the Trust's delivery of safe, effective and legally compliant patient care. The Trust's current catering contract was placed in 2023. In anticipation of its expiry, the Trust devised a compliant procurement strategy centred on a call-off competition under an existing framework agreement for patient and retail catering. Whilst a change in scoping requirements necessitated the cancellation of the initial call-off competition, the Trust acted promptly by launching a replacement competition at the earliest opportunity.
Throughout both competitions, the Trust had reasonably envisaged securing a short extension with the incumbent to bridge the period until mobilisation of a new provider, and discussions had progressed positively to that end. However, on 13 April 2026 the incumbent notified the Trust that it would not agree to an extension and would cease delivering services with effect from 26 April 2026. Given this extremely compressed timeframe, it was not possible to conduct a compliant procurement and mobilise a replacement provider. The Trust accordingly cancelled the call-off competition without award and must now make a direct award to safeguard continuity of essential services.
The direct award is for patient and retail catering and is limited in duration to 12+6 months, being the minimum period necessary to maintain continuity of services whilst the Trust conducts a fully compliant competitive procurement for a longer-term contract.
The conditions for reliance on the urgency ground under Paragraph 13 of Schedule 5 are satisfied:
(a) the incumbent's withdrawal at extremely short notice has created a genuine and immediate need to secure continuity of patient catering, without which the Trust would be exposed to serious risks to patient safety and potential breach of its statutory and regulatory obligations;
(b) the timeframe within which a replacement provider must be appointed is insufficient to permit any form of competitive tendering, whether under the Procurement Act 2023 or by way of call-off under an existing framework; and
(c) the urgency is not attributable to the Trust's conduct; the Trust took all reasonable steps to procure the services compliantly. This included seeking to secure a short extension albeit that it was ultimately unable to do so.
The direct award will be made on 23 April 2026 to accommodate immediate mobilisation and service commencement, subject to agreement of Heads of Terms. Full terms and conditions governing the contract will be finalised within 4 weeks.
Mitie FM Limited
- Companies House: 03253304 Level 12
London
SE1 9SG
United Kingdom
Email: communities.bdev@mitie.com
Website: http://www.mitie.com
Region: UKI44 - Lewisham and Southwark
Small or medium-sized enterprise (SME): No
Voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE): No
Contract 1. Provision of Patient & Retail Catering Services - Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust (Interim Arrangement)
Kingston and Richmond Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PNBL-5529-JNMP Procurement Department, Vera Brown House
Kinston Upon Thames
KT2 7QB
United Kingdom
Contact name: Chris Pathmadeva
Email: efprocurement@stgeorges.nhs.uk
Website: https://www.kingstonhospital.nhs.uk /
Region: UKI63 - Merton, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton
Organisation type: Public authority - central government
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