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Cafe Operation: Earlestown Town Hall

St Helens Council · Local authority

In brief

St Helens Council has announced plans to buy catering work. This is an early notice: there is nothing to bid on yet, but it tells you a tender may follow.

The notice does not state a value.

The contract runs for 2 years, up to 3 years with extensions, starting 3 August 2026.

The buyer says it is suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.

Built from the notice's own fields. Always check the official notice before you bid.

Can I win this?

Competition

Usually high: a median of 13 bids per contract for catering contracts in this region (from 42 awards in the last 12 months).

What the notice says

St Helens Borough Council is undertaking soft market testing to understand market interest in operating a new café facility within the recently refurbished Earlestown Town Hall. As part of the wider regeneration programme for Earlestown, the Grade II listed Town Hall has undergone extensive restoration and refurbishment to bring this landmark building back into civic, cultural, and community use. A new extension has been constructed to the north of the Town Hall to accommodate the café. This purpose‑built space has been designed to act as an inviting, vibrant focal point within the building, offering a high‑quality and welcoming environment for residents, visitors, families, and those working locally. The café will provide approximately 40 internal covers within a seating area of 36.15m², with potential for additional outdoor seating within the Town Hall Courtyard. We would like to take the opportunity to do some `soft market testing', to determine current interest levels in the market. THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR COMPETITION This Soft Market Test is intended to allow interested organisations with relevant experience to outline their views and provide information with no commitment to themselves or the Council.

How to bid

  1. Read the full notice on Find a Tender, including any tender documents it links to.
  2. Register your organisation on the Central Digital Platform (through Find a Tender) if you have not already. Suppliers need to be registered to take part in procurements under the Procurement Act 2023.
  3. Follow the submission instructions in the notice; it does not name an e-tendering portal.

Timeline

  1. Preliminary market engagement notice · UK2, notice 020217-2026

About the buyer

St Helens CouncilLast 12 months

Procurements

76

Awards

41

Suppliers it has used most for catering

  • Tony's Ices1 contract

Similar open tenders

All open catering tenders
  1. Whalley Range 11-18 High School Catering Tender 2026/27

    RPJ3 GroupNorth WestCatering

    Closing soon3 days leftExpress interestSuitable for SMEs

    £2.5mestimated
  2. Romero Catholic Trust Catering Framework

    Romero Catholic TrustNorth WestCatering

    Open13 days leftSuitable for SMEsFramework

    £13mframework ceiling

From notice 020217-2026 on Find a Tender, first published 6 March 2026. We last checked for changes on 28 September 2026.