Serco acquires Vertex’s UK public sector BPO ...
Serco acquires Vertex's UK public sector BPO operations
11 June 2012
Serco Group plc (Serco), the international services company, today announces
that it has acquired Vertex Public Sector Limited, the UK public sector
operations of Vertex Data Science Limited, for cash consideration of £55.5m.
The acquisition brings additional skills and capabilities to support expansion
into new areas of middle and back office support and adds further scale to our
recently created Global Services division.
Vertex Public Sector provides high quality Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
services to UK local and central government. Major customers in local
government include Westminster and Thurrock councils, and in central government
include the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) and Job Centre
Plus. Its 3,000 employees handle approximately 4.5 million citizen interactions
a year.
The business provides multi-channel contact centres, shared transactional
services and ICT services. In particular, it brings deep skills and
capabilities in areas such as HR and payroll, revenues and benefits, complex
case management and administration services.
The acquisition considerably increases our market presence and further improves
Serco's position for large scale outsourcing opportunities. We expect it to
enable us to provide additional services into existing local government
customers and to enhance our ability to secure further wide-ranging strategic
partnerships such as those achieved with local authorities in Glasgow,
Hertfordshire and Peterborough. The Vertex operations also bring significant
experience and scale to leverage in future opportunities within the central
government market, as well as the potential transfer of capabilities to private
sector customers.
The pro forma financial result for the year to 31 March 2012 for Vertex Public
Sector Limited was approximately £110m of revenue and £8m of Adjusted operating
profit.
Christopher Hyman, Chief Executive of Serco Group plc, said: "This acquisition
enhances the range of services we offer to the UK public sector as they seek to
reduce costs whilst continuously improving outcomes for citizens. We are
pleased with the important customer relationships it brings and the opportunity
to extend and expand these. The newly added skills and capabilities will also
help Serco address future prospects in both the local authority and central
government markets. Following recent significant contract wins, this is another
important step for our BPO strategy and the development of our Global Services
business. This business will have annual revenues of over $1bn and
approximately 50,000 employees offering a diverse range of middle and back
office services to both public and private sector customers."
Ends
For further information please contact Serco:
Stuart Ford, Head of Investor Relations T +44 (0) 208 334 4122
Marcus De Ville, Head of Media Relations T +44 (0) 208 334 4388
About Serco
Serco is a FTSE 100 international service company, which combines commercial
know-how with a deep public service ethos.
Around the world, we improve essential services by managing people, processes,
technology and assets more effectively. We advise policy makers, design
innovative solutions, integrate systems and - most of all - deliver to the
public.
Serco supports governments, agencies and companies who seek a trusted partner
with a solid track record of providing assured service excellence. Our people
offer operational, management and consulting expertise in the aviation, BPO,
defence, education, environmental services, facilities management, health, home
affairs, information and communications technology, knowledge services, local
government, science and nuclear, transport, welfare to work and the commercial
sectors.
More information can be found at www.serco.com