FUTURE OF DSG – UPDATE
By Mark Crabtree, UK MoD
Mark Crabtree tells Digest, “Since I wrote last month, we have passed a major milestone. On 23 May we received indicative proposals from all the bidders. We were pleased that they had clearly invested a lot of time and effort in producing them in the relatively short period of time since receiving the Invitation To Negotiate. All aspects of the sale were covered by the proposals, ranging from the nitty-gritty of the contractual documents, right through to bidders’ plans to engage with you, the DSG workforce, during the transition and beyond. This is an immensely positive sign as we approach the final bid submission, still scheduled for September.
“We provided the bidders with detailed feedback and are now spending the summer holding formal negotiation meetings, to discuss the issues that came up in their initial proposals. Bidders will also be attending sessions on specific topics with subject matter experts, and will be conducting further site visits over the coming weeks, so, depending on where you work, you may see some people from the bidding teams being shown around. All this activity will provide the bidders with as much information as possible for preparing their final proposals. The intention is of course; to receive the best bids we possibly can to place the future of DSG in the best hands.
“These sessions will be an invaluable insight for the bidders into the DSG organisation from the people who now it best. I understand the bidders have come away from these sessions with a very positive impression of the business.”
“Last month I mentioned that DSG itself, led by the Board members, has been involved in the ongoing work to prepare DSG for a smooth separation from MOD and transition to its new owner. This month, therefore, I thought you might like some more detail on how DSG staff are involved in this work.
For example, the site visits are arranged with DSG, and DSG staff escort bidders around the sites and facilities. DSG staff have also been helping answer the numerous clarification questions submitted by bidders as part of their due diligence process. Many of these questions need expert answers and it is DSG staff who are able to, and continue to, provide much of this detail. We very much appreciate this support.
In addition, the DSG Separation programme meets monthly to provide oversight of key transformation and change initiatives within DSG. This includes work, led by Steve Hall, DSG Finance Director, to ensure that all aspects of DSG’s separation from MOD are addressed and that there are no issues post-sale with continued provision of service from the DSG Land business.
This work both informs action in DSG but also feeds into the DE&S-led
Transition Board, attended by several members of the DSG Senior Management team, to ensure plans are aligned. This is a very busy workstream with plenty to do in the next few months, but progress on all issues is going well.”
“And finally, at the time of writing, Archie Hughes, DSG’s Chief Executive, is in the midst of leading the rest of the Senior Management team in giving Management presentations to each bidder. These sessions will be an invaluable insight for the bidders into the DSG organisation from the people who know it best. I understand the bidders have come away from these sessions with a very positive impression of the business.”
This feature was published in the August issue of ‘Digest,’ the DSG Publication by Mark Crabtree, Assistant Head of the Business Strategy and Governance team in MOD.