Guy Lawrence 27th March 2025

Government Property Agency empowers civil servants throughout the UK with centralised, simplified networks

The Government Property Agency (GPA) exists to support the government's property strategy. Its mandate includes government office and warehouse portfolios, supporting economic stability and regeneration, and the Net Zero initiative.

It’s the largest property holder in government, with more than £2.1bn in property assets and more than 53% of the government's office estate.

The GPA combines public sector know-how, private sector expertise and commercial acumen to manage an integrated and shared estate of around 1.1m square miles – working to deliver strategies, management, technology, and security.

Through the Government Hubs Programme, the GPA delivers smart, modern, sustainable and digitally connected workplaces that support productivity and wellbeing. Its Workplace Services Transformation Programme is introducing regional, people-centred, data-driven facilities management contracts to support civil servants across the UK.

Al Gardner is a technology lead in Property Technology at the GPA, managing a team of architects, product managers and delivery managers working across the GPA portfolio.

The foundations of a strong relationship:

In 2018 the GPA worked with Converge during the final stages of the Old Admiralty Building project. At that time, Gardner explained, "We delivered buildings individually, with commercial exercises to find suppliers. Converge was also engaged on the 23 Stephenson Street in Birmingham and on Feethams House, Darlington, part of the Government’s new, state-of-the-art economic campus.”

The Old Admiralty Building project required ample planning due to the complexity of the Grade 1-listed location, and 23 Stephenson Street had 12 tenants over nine floors, each with their own networking.

In all buildings, Converge developed leading-edge security solutions with Cisco and Palo Alto – and refined the solution to meet tenants’ needs.

The GPA’s new approach to networks:

“We needed to move away from a multi-tenanted approach. Previously we could have six departments in a building with separate networks, which were complicated and expensive,” said Gardner. "Government wanted more centralisation and simplification.”

Gardner and the GPA team established a broader strategic contract “to fix suppliers and develop long term relationships."

That move had specific objectives. "We were clear about it," Gardner explained. "It didn't matter what systems used as long as they met our requirements.”

Those initial projects also helped Converge clarify the need for a permanent, senior technical team to work with the GPA.

Converge’s bid to the GPA centred around five key values: the right products, appropriate services, effective innovation, thorough processes and the best people for the job.

The bid adhered to the GPA’s requirements for delivering savings, shared networks and multi-departmental offices in strategic locations, while meeting the requirements and baseline standards in the Government Workplace Design Guide.

Darlington Economic Campus Building

Ongoing work across the UK:

Since those initial projects and winning the bid for a longer contract, the relationship between Converge and the GPA has gone from strength to strength.

"We're delivering more networks," said Gardner. "And seeing a deepening knowledge and expertise from Converge."

Converge and the GPA are working across five floors of Temple Quay House in Bristol, and on the GPA’s Whitehall Campus project, which is its largest programme to date and encompasses over 25 buildings.

Converge has also supported development of a test rig in Stafford which enables the GPA to test new IT with existing networking without taking live sites or systems offline.

The GPA and Converge rise to every challenge:

The nature of working on so many different government buildings means varied challenges.

"Take the Old Admiralty Building," said Gardner. "It's historic – labyrinthine, with old, thick walls and high ceilings. It's a complicated place to deliver Wi-Fi." But Converge and the GPA supported each other when delivering the new infrastructure.

At 23 Stephenson Street, Gardner said, "It's a contemporary office and the standard of delivery has been excellent. That's reflected in great scores from workplace experience surveys, so we're really pleased."

"The relationships that we've built, particularly with key individuals that Converge provides again and again, are great – we've all got much better by working together," said Gardner.

Consistent teamwork drives the GPA forward:

Indeed, the relationship between Converge and the GPA proves a driving factor.

Gardner said: "It's really encouraging to see growth – we're understanding how we can improve networks and communicate challenges. We've been working together on Wi-Fi standards, and I’m looking to improve networks in older buildings to meet the same standard as networks in contemporary offices.

"Converge staff are increasingly embedded into my team. They’re like one team as far as I'm concerned."

The relationship functions smoothly during installation, too.

"When we're deploying the first thing Converge does is build out equipment spaces, then installs on different floors at different times. That period is frantic. Deploying networks like this is hard and Converge hasn't missed a deadline.”

Converge and the GPA tackle past and future together:

There's an added element to all of this, too – a sense of history, and the knowledge that the networks will be used for life-changing work.

"We’re lucky to deliver IT into amazing buildings," explained Gardner. "One has a plaque on the wall that says it's where Nelson was brought after the Battle of Trafalgar. And then there's the Old Admiralty Building, where Churchill worked when he was First Lord of the Admiralty. We're surrounded by real history – it's exciting and unique.

"There are many civil servants whose work will be made effective by the networks we’re delivering with Converge. The impact they'll have on the nation and on people's lives is immense. That's what's inspiring to me, the work we're supporting.”

Despite the challenges and pressures, Gardner says that Converge has excelled at every point during every project. That’s why they’re now the GPA's "key delivery supplier for networks" – an important role when "networking is a foundational component" of the digital transformation the GPA is delivering across the UK.