digibyte - Capita continues international expansion with SouthWestern buy
- Summary:
- Capita has announced that it has acquired Ireland-based business process outsourcing firm SouthWestern for €35m, continuing its expansion into new man giving moneyglobal markets
Capita has announced that it has acquired Ireland-based business process outsourcing firm SouthWestern for €35m, continuing its expansion into new global markets.
The buy follows Capita's recent acquisition of tricontes, a specialist customer management company based out of Munich in Germany. Capita said at the time that trincontes will allow it “gain experience and expertise in a new region”.
Capita said that the SouthWestern deal will 'significantly enhance' its presence in the Irish BPO market, which it estimates to be worth €1 billion and growing at 5 per cent each year. Commenting on the news, Capita chief executive Andy Parker said:
“SouthWestern is a highly respected outsourcing company with an excellent private and public sector client base. It has particularly strong relationships with organisations in the agricultural sector, which is a growing and new market for Capita. The acquisition will provide Capita the opportunity to provide new services to SouthWestern’s existing clients and to continue to grow both its customer base, and job opportunities”
Verdict
SouthWestern already has a strong client base in Ireland, including the likes of the Department of Agriculture Food and Marine, Bord Gáis, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Failte Ireland – which help fill out Capita's portfolio of customers in the region, which are currently predominantly from the financial services sector.
If Capita's forecasts are accurate, after some integration and IT systems enhancements in 2015, it expects the SouthWestern business to generate an operating profit of around €7 million – up from a forecast of €3.4 million in 2014. Not too shabby.