12 February 2016

Capita appointed as preferred bidder by Blackburn with Darwen for place-based partnership

Capita has been named as preferred bidder by Blackburn with Darwen Council to become its technical services partner. The partnership is expected to be worth at least £60m for an initial term of five years, with the ability to extend for another five years.

The deal will see Capita and the Council form a new flexible partnership, with Capita providing a blend of services and business cases that will deliver savings, income and growth for the borough. The deal will build the North of England’s first ‘place-based partnership’, creating new opportunities around the development of land, local assets and skills that generate income and transform Blackburn with Darwen.

The core of the new contract includes technical services such as highways and property. The Council will also draw down a wide range of expertise from across Capita to enable it to deliver a strategic transformation over the next five years. Beyond generating savings through reducing costs and increasing efficiencies across the Council, Capita will also work with the Council to generate new income through the commercialisation of existing services and assets.

The contract includes a wider £2bn framework, which allows a number of other public organisations to directly procure Capita’s services for a wide range of infrastructure and development projects. This includes organisations within Blackburn with Darwen, across Lancashire, including all 14 other councils within Lancashire, and the wider neighbouring region.

Cllr Andy Kay, Executive Member for Resources for Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “This flexible contract represents the next generation of partnerships between local government and the private sector. Our Council must now find a sustainable model for funding and growth that can support us for the future. The services provided by our partner, Capita, and access to its wider capabilities and expertise will potentially help us to grow our revenues, reduce our expenditure and transform the borough to meet the needs of our residents over the next five years and maybe beyond.”

Andy Parker, Capita’s Chief Executive, said: “We have been working with the Council for fifteen years, and this contract builds on that long-standing relationship.

“This partnership model will transform Blackburn with Darwen and drive further investment and funding into the area – as well as allowing the Council to draw upon the complete breadth of expertise across Capita. The wider framework also means we can enable Blackburn with Darwen to maximise the opportunities as regional devolution in Lancashire begins to develop.

“This model is gaining a high level of interest across local government as it focusses on delivering valuable local outcomes in a flexible manner meeting the Council’s individual needs and challenges.”

-ENDS-

For further information:

Capita plc
Tel: 020 7799 1525
Andy Parker, Chief Executive Officer
Shona Nichols, Executive Director, Communications
Andrew Ripper, Head of Investor Relations

Media enquiries

David Hendy
Tel: 020 7654 2399
David.Hendy@capita.co.uk

Note to editors

Capita’s previous partnership agreement with Blackburn with Darwen Council is due to end in June 2016. Preferred bidder status has been awarded through an open competitive tender process.

Capita is a leading UK provider of technology-enabled customer and business process services and integrated professional support services. With 74,000 people at over 400 sites, including 80 business centres across the UK, Europe, India and South Africa, Capita 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 FTSE 100 with 2014 revenue of £4.4 billion. Further information on Capita can be found at: http://www.capita.co.uk/.