Defence Equipment and Support appoints the Paragon consortium

Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), the bespoke trading entity and arm’s length body of the Ministry of Defence which manages the procurement of equipment and services for the Armed Forces, has appointed the Paragon consortium as its commercial delivery partner.

The ten-year contract will see the consortium provide additional commercial resource and innovation to the DE&S commercial function. This will support DE&S procure the equipment and services that the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force need to operate effectively, whilst delivering value to the tax payer.

The Paragon consortium, consisting of Mace, Turner & Townsend, EY, Efficio and Gardiner & Theobald, brings a combined strong track record in delivering commercial services and improving commercial performance for the world’s largest and most complex programmes and organisations.

The contract will provide a new and trusted mechanism to bring experienced commercial personnel into DE&S. It will also assist in the identification, maturing and delivery of approved innovation proposals to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of DE&S commercial operations and business.

Jason Millett, Chair of the Paragon consortium said:

“I am delighted that DE&S has appointed the Paragon consortium as its Commercial Delivery Partner. The new consortium will be able to draw on a huge range of cross-sector expertise and experience to meet the complex requirements of both DE&S and the UK’s Armed Forces over the next ten years. Working closely with our partners and the team at DE&S, we will deliver a world-class, innovative managed commercial services model.”

Mike Connolly, Senior Responsible Officer of the Paragon consortium commented:

“Our consortium brings together the expertise of leading specialists from across a range of highly demanding industry sectors. Our focus is to work in partnership with DE&S to support the organisation to equip the UK’s Armed Forces for operations now and in the future whilst delivering value for money to the taxpayer.”