For Multi-Academy Trust CFOs and COOs, few responsibilities carry as much financial risk – or opportunity – as the management of outsourced service contracts. Catering, cleaning, estates and other support services represent significant, long-term commitments, often running into millions of pounds over a contract lifecycle. Yet these contracts can quietly drift out of alignment with Trust priorities if not actively reviewed, challenged and monitored.
As we approach the spring term, there is a clear and often overlooked reality: if your Trust is considering going out to tender for a new contract starting in September, the window to act is now.
By March, it’s typically too late to run a robust, competitive procurement process that delivers value, mitigates risk and ensures a smooth mobilisation for the new academic year.
Why timing matters in tendering
Effective tendering is not simply about replacing one provider with another. For growing Trusts, it’s a strategic exercise that requires:
- Clear specification development
- Accurate data on current performance and costs
- Market engagement and bidder clarification
- Proper evaluation and governance sign-off
- Sufficient mobilisation time to avoid disruption
Trying to compress this process too late in the year increases risk – both operationally and financially. It can lead to limited bidder interest, weaker commercial terms and rushed transitions that store up problems for the future.
For Trust leaders reviewing catering or cleaning provision, the period between now and early spring is therefore the critical decision point.
When growth exposes contract inefficiency
This is particularly relevant for Trusts that have grown rapidly. Expansion through conversion or merger often means inheriting multiple providers, contracts and operating models – each with different pricing structures, service levels and management arrangements.
Over time, what may once have worked locally can become expensive and difficult to govern at scale.
A good example of this challenge can be seen in the experience of The Lighthouse Schools Partnership (LSP), a large Trust of 30 schools – 26 primary and four secondary – located across the South West fringe of Bristol. Collectively, LSP serves around 13,500 pupils, making it larger than many universities.
Formed initially by six schools, the Trust expanded quickly. As it grew, it inherited a patchwork of catering and cleaning contracts. At one stage, this included four outsourced catering providers alongside an in-house catering operation, all operating under different models. While each arrangement made sense in isolation, together they became complex, time-consuming and inefficient to manage.
LSP made a strategic decision to consolidate provision under a single Trust-wide contract. The objective was not only cost efficiency, but also consistency, simplicity and stronger commercial control.
The value of a structured, competitive process
A full competitive tender was undertaken across all schools, with a clear focus on specification, quality and value for money. The process allowed LSP to understand the true cost of service delivery, compare proposals on a like-for-like basis and assess the non-financial aspects of partnership and alignment.
As part of the transition, all schools were successfully centralised to one provider for the remainder of the existing contractual term, delivering savings of approximately £200,000. When that term ended, a further competitive tender resulted in the appointment of a single contractor that met the Trust’s specification and delivered strong commercial terms (you read more about our work with The Lighthouse Schools Partnership here).
Beyond the financial savings, consolidation brought operational benefits: all 26 primary schools now operate the same menu from one provider, improving consistency for pupils and significantly streamlining contract management for the Trust.
Tendering is only half the equation
However, even the best procurement exercise delivers limited value if contracts are not actively managed once in place. Contract performance management is where many Trusts struggle – not through lack of intent, but lack of capacity.
Monitoring whether providers are delivering contracted hours, meeting KPIs and honouring service commitments is time-consuming and often deprioritised amid competing demands. Yet from a financial perspective, this oversight is essential.
For LSP, ongoing contract performance management has ensured that catering and cleaning providers deliver exactly what has been contracted – no more and no less. Where services have been under-delivered, credits have been reclaimed. During the Covid period alone, this amounted to around £100,000 worth of under-delivered hours being identified and recovered.
A financial discipline, not an operational extra
For CFOs and COOs, tendering and contract performance management is a core financial discipline, not an operational add-on. Done well, it protects Trust budgets from silent cost leakage, improves forecasting and financial certainty and strengthens accountability and governance.
As the current academic year quickly progresses, now is the time to ask some fundamental questions:
- Are our current contracts still fit for purpose at Trust scale?
- Do we have confidence that providers are delivering what we pay for?
- If we needed to tender, are we early enough to do it properly?
Whether a Trust is approaching contract expiry, managing inherited arrangements, or simply seeking greater assurance over value for money, early action is key.
For Trust leaders, the message is clear: if September 2026 change is on the horizon, the time to act is now.
Contact us via the form at the bottom of this page, or call us on 01276 673 880 if you need help with running a tender, or multiple tenders, for your MAT – we’re always happy to help.
