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23 Sep 2010

DLA Piper advises King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in £300m deal

Deal creates UK's largest provider of pathology services

News

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DLA Piper has advised King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on a public private partnership with Serco and Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital in a deal worth in excess of £300m.

Under this partnership King's College Hospital will, from 1 October, become a joint venture member of GSTS Pathology, an existing joint venture between Serco and Guy's. The addition of King College Hospital pathology unit means that GSTS Pathology is now the UK's largest provider of pathology services. The existing King's pathology staff will remain NHS employees, retaining their NHS pensions and NHS staff benefits.

Commenting on the deal Mark Crichard, lead partner in the DLA Piper team, said: "As well as being of strategic importance to King's College Hospital, this deal was particularly challenging and interesting to work on. Alongside negotiating a long-term outsourcing agreement for the pathology services, we also had to advise on the investment structure, financing and governance of the joint venture, property licences and the application of the 'retention of employment model' to some 300 plus staff. All of this had to be done as part of a formal public procurement exercise."

Tim Smart, chief executive of King's College Hospital said: "I am delighted that we have been able to join forces with Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital and Serco to form this unique partnership and confident that the partnership will improve the first-rate pathology service we already provide; whilst also safe-guarding the expertise and specialist knowledge we have within the trust."

Mark Crichard was supported on the DLA Piper team by Guy Lamb (employment), Jeremy Leibster (property), Daisy Llewellyn, Rebekah Flaherty and Agnieszka Verlet.