Capita acquires Ventura

1 July 2011

         Capita acquires customer contact centre specialists, Ventura          

The Capita Group Plc (`Capita') announces today that it has acquired Ventura, a
customer contact specialist for a cash consideration of £65 million on a
cash-free, debt-free basis.

Ventura, the trading name of Club 24 Ltd, is the third party customer services
management arm of Next plc and manages more than 50 million customer contacts
each year for a range of additional private and public sector clients. Ventura
is particularly strong in the private sector with clients including a number of
leading telecoms, utilities and retail companies, such as O2, Orange, British
Gas and BMI.

Ventura made a pro forma operating profit for its financial year to 31 January
2011 of £8 million on turnover of £156 million.

The acquisition will increase Capita's capacity for customer management
services, providing additional front office services and flexible capacity for
existing Group clients and the opportunity to provide Ventura's client base
with access to Capita's wider service offering.

Commenting on the deal, Paul Pindar, Chief Executive of The Capita Group Plc
said: "The acquisition of Ventura is a good strategic fit with our existing
integrated outsourcing services. Ventura's flexible service model complements
our established customer contact operations which are integral to many of our
long term contracts and businesses. It also provides Capita with opportunities
to offer wider customer management and back office outsourced services to key,
blue chip clients across additional industry sectors. We will be able to offer
an enhanced customer management proposition, including providing customer
acquisition and sales, help and information lines, technical support and
emergency response both on a long or more flexible basis, alongside our breadth
of administration and professional support services."

Ian Cherry, Managing Director, Ventura, added: "This is a great way to take the
business forward; this news will strengthen our service to clients and business
prospects. We are very excited about the future and look forward to offering
our clients even more innovative solutions in customer management outsourcing
than ever before."

Ventura has around 8,000 employees, mainly in Yorkshire, Cardiff, Milton Keynes
and Pune, India, who will transfer to Capita.

                                    -ends-                                     

For further information:

The Capita Group Plc

Tel: [phone]

Paul Pindar, Chief Executive

Shona Nichols, Corporate Communications Director

 

Media enquiries

Capita press office

Caroline Mooney

Tel: [phone] or 020 7654 2399 (out of hours)

 

Notes to editors

The Capita Group Plc is the UK's leading provider of BPO and integrated
professional support service solutions.  With 37,000 people at more than 350
sites, including 64 business centres across the UK, Ireland, the Channel
Islands and India, the Group uses its expertise, infrastructure and scale
benefits to transform its clients' services, driving down costs and adding
value. Capita is quoted on the London Stock Exchange (CPI.L), and is a
constituent of the FTSE100 with revenues for 2010 of £2,744 million.  Further
information on The Capita Group Plc can be found at: http://www.capita.co.uk