News | By practice area

Wednesday 19th March 2008

SJ Berwin today announced that it has advised the British Broadcasting Corporation on the circa £500 million outsourcing of the provision of the Digital Switchover Help Scheme.

Up to seven million persons in the UK will be eligible for support from the Help Scheme to convert one television set to digital during switchover between now and 2013.  Persons eligible are those 75 and over, able to get certain disability benefits, or registered blind or partially sighted.  The support they can receive from the Help Scheme includes help in choosing the right equipment, easy to use equipment that suits their needs, home installation, aerial upgrades where needed and possible, and after-care following installation.

Working with senior BBC lawyers Anthony Vittadini and Asha Sharma, the SJ Berwin team assisted through the procurement process, and in the drafting, negotiation and finalisation of the supply arrangements between DSHS Limited, a wholly-owned BBC subsidiary, and selected supplier, eaga plc.

David Meredith, Head of SJ Berwin's Outsourcing Group, commented: "We are delighted to have worked with the BBC on this vital part of the future of terrestrial broadcasting in the UK.  Our delivery model is specifically configured to provide agile, responsive support from within our clients' project teams, which exactly suited the BBC's needs for the DSHS project."

For further information please contact:

David Meredith, Partner, on +44 (0)20 7111 2353, email david.meredith@sjberwin.com; or 

Dawn Holden, Business Development Manager, on +44 (0)20 7111 5340, email dawn.holden@sjberwin.com.

• Led by David Meredith, SJ Berwin LLP's 17 partner European Outsourcing Group comprises more than 40 lawyers based in France, Germany, Italy and the UK, with expertise in programme management, procurement, due diligence, transaction modelling, corporate structuring, litigation, employment and pensions issues, tax, real estate and financing, enabling us to offer genuinely full service projects support, both in our domestic markets and on a pan-European and global basis.
  
  
• We are unusual in maintaining a highly respected supplier-side practice whilst also having a very strong customer-side practice, which undertakes a great deal of work for financial services institutions and large corporates across diverse sectors.
  
  
• Our European Outsourcing Group won many new clients and instructions in 2007, with revenue up 50% on 2006.  We continue to grow the team in each of our offices and will be making further senior hires in 2008.
  
  
• Founded in 1982, SJ Berwin is a leading City corporate and commercial law firm with more than 600 lawyers working across its offices in London, Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris and Turin.
  
  
• SJ Berwin was created and thrives as a leading-edge legal services business, focusing on the European and international market place.  Our clients are sophisticated buyers of legal services, principally entrepreneurial companies and financial institutions, whom we advise on a comprehensive range of services including Corporate Finance, Commercial, Real Estate, Finance, Reconstruction & Insolvency, Financial Services, Litigation, Employment & Pensions, EU & Competition and Tax.
  
  
• Our approach has resulted in the firm winning a number of recent awards including UK Firm of the Year’ at the Global Chambers Awards 2007, European Law Firm of the Year (EVCA) for the third consecutive year, Private Equity Law Firm of the Year (EVCJ) for the 4th consecutive year,  Best Law Firm (Fund Formation) (Private EquityOnline and Private Equity International) 2007 for the 6th consecutive year; Competition Team of the Year - Legal Business Awards 2006;  No 1 in Legal Week’s Law Firm Satisfaction Survey 2005; UK Firm of the Year - Legal Week Awards 2005;  Real Estate Team of the Year - Legal Business Awards 2005; Real Estate Team of the Year - The Lawyer Awards 2005; Stephen Kon awarded Best Achievement in Copyright Practice at the World Leaders European IP Awards 2005; Jonathan Blake named Global Private Funds Lawyer of the Year by The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers.  
  
  
• On 1 June 2005, SJ Berwin became SJ Berwin LLP, a limited liability partnership.  SJ Berwin LLP or an affiliated undertaking has an office in Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris and Turin. 
  
  
• More information on SJ Berwin's services can be found at www.sjberwin.com