DLA Piper advises on the launch of Crown Hosting Data Centres

Crown Hosting Data Centre Services offers customers across the public sector direct access to a rich portfolio of hosting services at different levels of accreditation, underpinned by a comprehensive set of SLAs.

DLA Piper advised on all aspects of the project, including establishment of the joint venture vehicle, establishment of the framework agreement under which customers can purchase services, and completion of the 'call-off' contracts with the three day one customers - the Department for Work & Pensions, the Highways Agency and the Home Office.

Andrew Dyson, DLA Piper's lead partner for the project said: "This is a strategic shared service for Government, with the potential to deliver major efficiency savings across the public sector. We are delighted to have advised Cabinet Office on a project which has brought together expertise from across the full range of business disciplines within the firm - including IT, real estate, corporate and finance. We look forward to working with the Cabinet Office in future on their ambitious reform programme."

The DLA Piper team advising on the transaction was led by IPT partners Andrew Dyson and Richard Bonnar, with support from Colin Ashford (partner, Restructuring), Tim Lake (partner, Corporate), Paul Jayson (partner, Real Estate), Sarah Day (partner, Finance & Projects), Andreas Gunst (partner, Finance & Projects), Guy Lamb (partner, Employment), and Kate Payne (partner, Pensions).

The wider team also included Amanda Pilkington (legal director, IPT), Gavan Mackenzie (senior associate, IPT), Alex Kirkhope (senior associate, IPT), Sophie Levett (associate, IPT), Jenna Ostrowski (associate, Corporate), Ruth Kennedy (associate, Restructuring) and Roos Van Roemburg (associate, Real Estate).