Capita acquires SouthWestern

14 August 2014 Capita acquires SouthWestern Capita plc (`Capita') has acquired SouthWestern Business Process ServicesLimited (`SouthWestern') from private equity group Ion Equity, for aconsideration of €35m (£28m) on a cash free, debt free basis. SouthWestern isthe leading domestic provider of outsourced managed services in Ireland. SouthWestern delivers customer relationship management, financial sharedservices, data processing and inspectorate services to private and publicsector organisations, from offices in Ireland, the UK and Poland. Its clientsinclude the Department of Agriculture Food and Marine, Bord Gáis, theDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Bord Bia, Eircom and FailteIreland. SouthWestern is forecasting an operating profit of €3.4m on turnover of€33.6m in its financial year to 31 December 2014. Following some integration andIT systems enhancement in 2015, Capita expects SouthWestern to generate anoperating profit of around €7m on revenues of €47m in 2016. Andy Parker, Capita chief executive, said: "Capita has an established presencein Ireland with more than 1,000 employees delivering services across thefinancial services and other sectors. This deal will significantly enhanceCapita's presence in the Irish business process outsourcing market, which isestimated to be worth €1bn and growing by 5 per cent each year[1]. "SouthWestern is a highly respected outsourcing company with an excellentprivate and public sector client base. It has particularly strong relationshipswith organisations in the agricultural sector, which is a growing and newmarket for Capita. The acquisition will provide Capita the opportunity toprovide new services to SouthWestern's existing clients and to continue to growboth its customer base, and job opportunities." Ion Equity chairman and outgoing SouthWestern chairman Neil O'Leary said: "Ionis proud to have led SouthWestern during a period of strong growth. It was anentrepreneurial business that employed 180 people when we acquired it but,through sustained hard work from a highly skilled workforce and an unwaveringfocus on delivering for its clients, it is now the number one in its keybusiness areas, employing 1,000 people and growing strongly. While we are veryhappy with our involvement in SouthWestern, Capita is in a position to supportgreater success and accelerate job creation and we wish all stakeholders a verysuccessful future." SouthWestern employs around 1,000 employees, primarily based across three sitesin County Cork, and one in Lodz, Poland, together with smaller operations inDublin and Milton Keynes. For further information:Capita plcTel: 020 7799 1525Andy Parker, Chief Executive OfficerShona Nichols, Corporate Communications Director Media enquiries only:Capita press officeCaroline MooneyTel: 020 7654 2152 or 020 7654 2399 (out of hours)Email: caroline.mooney@capita.co.uk Note to editors 1. Source: Nelson Hall. Capita plc is the UK's leading provider of BPO and integrated professionalsupport service solutions. With 66,000 people at over 400 sites, including 73business centres across the UK, Europe, India and South Africa, the Group usesits expertise, infrastructure and scale benefits to transform its clients'services, driving down costs and adding value. Capita is quoted on the LondonStock Exchange (CPI.L), and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 with 2013 revenueof £3.9 billion. Further information on Capita plc can be found at:www.capita.co.uk