International law firm Simmons & Simmons has advised Telefónica UK on its landmark contact centre outsourcing to Capita, including on the related real estate, employment, pensions, finance and tax issues.

The £1.2 billion deal, which came into effect on 01 July 2013 with a term of 10 years, is one of the largest private sector contact centre outsourcings in Europe to date and the largest deal of its kind ever entered into by Telefónica UK.

The deal builds on a number of instructions from Telefónica UK in recent years, including the sale of Manx Telecom in 2011, and a finance and accounting outsourcing to Genpact in 2012. The transaction was managed by lawyers in Simmons & Simmons’ London and Bristol offices.

Commenting on the transaction, Mike Barber, Head of Voice Transformation for Telefónica UK and the project lead for the outsourcing, said: “This project represents a very important step in the evolution of Telefonica UK’s Sales & Service strategy. Our contact centres are at the heart of our relationship with our customers and this deal will secure the transformation of those services in a digital world to reflect how our customers want to interact with us now and in the future. This is a landmark deal which the Simmons team has helped us navigate through to secure the best outcome for our customers, shareholders and our people. The contribution from the Simmons team was unfaltering. They have brought expertise and innovation to help shape our thinking and ultimately to help us deliver such a highly complex deal. Equally, they are commercially astute, pragmatic and great fun to work with.”

Dean Savage, Head of Operations (Legal and Regulatory) and the lead lawyer for Telefónica UK on the deal, added: “Simmons & Simmons played a pivotal role in helping Telefónica UK get this massive, ground breaking transaction completed. They fielded a strong team who advised on all aspects of the deal, and were an integral part of the deal team."

Alexander Brown, partner in the firm’s Information, Communications & Technology group said: “Not only was this transaction of high value and importance to Telefónica UK, it also involved a number of complicating factors and issues that we had to work through. We were pleased to work with Telefónica UK on the deal and to be able to bring together our London and Bristol lawyers as one team to do that.”

Simmons & Simmons fielded a cross practice team, led by Alexander Brown (ICT), and assisted by George Morris (ICT) and Frances Stocks (ICT). Employment advice was provided by Philip Bartlett and Anna Shelley. Real Estate advice was provided by Iain Macfarlane and Caroline Turner-Inskip. Pensions advice was provided by Danny Tsang and Richard Pilsworth. Tax advice was provided by Nick Cronkshaw and Hatice Ismail.