Bird & Bird and DLA Piper have taken lead advisory roles on a public-private partnership (PPP) between support services company Serco Group and King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in a deal worth in excess of £300m.

King's College Trust, advised by DLA Piper, is the latest addition to GSTS Pathology, a joint venture between Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and Serco.

The joint venture carries out more than 10 million medical tests a year, which range from blood tests to cancer and other disease screening.

DLA fielded a team led by IT partner Mark Crichard to advise on the 10-year contract that will see the Trust take a 30% stake in the venture. Serco expects the agreement to result in incremental revenues of approximately £110m over the 10-year term of the contract.

Crichard commented: "As well as being of strategic importance to King's College Hospital, this deal was particularly challenging and interesting to work on."

He added: "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, alongside 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."

Serco instructed Bird & Bird to advise GSTS Pathology. The City firm fielded a team led by healthcare partner David Ayers.

The original joint venture was set up almost two years ago and is now the main pathology supplier for Guy's & St Thomas' and Bedford hospitals. According to a Serco spokesperson, the recent addition to the venture will significantly improve efficiency in medical testing.