Land Registry and Ordnance Survey have agreed to share a dedicated secure datacentre in a move that could herald more government inter-agency cost-saving IT deals.

The agreement is for the Registry to lease 219 square metres of services and managed space at its centre in Gloucester to house a proportion of the Survey's production IT infrastructure for the next five years, and support the launch of a new database management system.

A joint statement said: "It will facilitate essential IT business continuity services in conjunction with Ordnance Survey’s new head office and operations base being built in Southampton."

Land Registry is actively pursuing a shared service strategy by marketing extra capacity at its data storage centre, which will use an energy-reducing venting system to reduce carbon emissions.

John Wright, Registry director of information systems, described the deal as "a milestone".

"Looking to the future, it’s also a potential platform for other operations to share services and cut costs,” he said.