The in-house legal teams at BOC Group and Marks & Spencer (M&S) have put external advisers firmly in their place after sealing an outsourcing contract worth £1bn without outside lead counsel.

The deal, which was described by the two FTSE 100 companies as one of the largest food distribution contracts in the UK, saw BOC agree to deliver sandwiches, bananas and other food to around 420 M&S stores until 2011.