Capita has reached an agreement to sell its Supplier Assessment Services division, which holds Constructionline, to funds affiliated with Warburg Pincus for 拢160m cash.
Constructionline was set up by the UK government in 1998 to provide a single point of reference for all pre-qualification data for the construction industry. It was initially administered by Capita on behalf of the government. Capita then paid 拢35m for Constructionline in January 2015 when the government decided to privatise it, and made it the basis of a division called Supplier Assessment Services. This division generated revenue of 拢14m in 2017 and made an operating profit of 拢6m. Gross assets are shown as 拢26m.
Capita said that it had substantially grown the business by invested in it and commercialising it. New services added by Capita include an insurance service and a health & safety consultancy operation.
Capita decided to offload Constructionline as part of a programme to reduce debt by disposing of non-core assets. The sale is expected to complete in early July 2018.
Capita chief executive Jon Lewis said: 鈥淭his transaction marks a further step in executing the strategy announced in April aimed at simplifying and strengthening the business to deliver future success and contributing to realising 拢300m from non-core disposals in 2018.鈥
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