.svg){kind=logo} | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Company type | Public limited company |
| LSE: CPI | |
| Industry | |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters | London, England |
Key people |
|
| Products |
|
| Revenue |  £2,814.6 million (2023)[2] |
 £(52.0) million (2023)[2] | |
| £(180.6) million (2023)[2] | |
Number of employees | 50,000 (2023)[3] |
| Website | capita |
Capita plc is an international business process outsourcing and professional services company headquartered in London. It is the largest business process outsourcing and professional services company in the United Kingdom, with an overall market share of 29% in 2016, and has clients in central government, local government and the private sector.[4] It also has a property and infrastructure consultancy division which is the fourth largest multidisciplinary consultancy in the UK.[5] Roughly half of its turnover comes from the private sector and half from the public sector.[4] Whilst UK-focused, Capita also has operations across Europe, Africa and Asia.
Established in 1984 and gaining its independence in 1987 management buyout, Capita's early business activities were largely orchestrated by Rod Aldridge, the company's first executive chairman. Since 1991, it has been listed on the London Stock Exchange. Various British government bodies have contracted services out to Capita, including the Ministry of Defence, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Department for Work and Pensions and numerous NHS Trusts. Aldridge stepped down as the company's CEO in 2006 amid claims that a personal loan made to the Labour Party had influenced government contracts that were awarded to Capita. In February 2007, a Capita office in Victoria, London was subject to a letter bomb attack that injured one person. In September 2019, Capita announced that it was re-branding as a "purpose-led" living wage employer; however, it subsequently abandoned this position after reports emerged that thousands of its employees were being paid below the minimum wage.[6]
Across much of its existence, Capita has frequently engaged in acquisitions of other companies to fuel its growth, as well as the occasional divestment dependent upon circumstance; some of this acquisitions, such as of the 2015 purchase of a former government research operation responsible for food safety, has been subject to criticism.[7] During 2018, following a profit warning, dividend suspension, a £700 million rights issue, and other measures amid rising debts and a pensions deficit, the company's share value dropped by 47%. Several divestments of non-core divisions took place during the late 2010s and early 2020s. In May 2019, the company became the first FTSE 250 company in 30 years to appoint rank-and-file workers to its board. During early 2023, Capita acknowledged that hackers had breached its systems and stolen personal information of almost a hundred business clients.
- ^ "CAPITA PLC overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 8 December 1986. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ a b c "Annual Results 2023" (PDF). Capita. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "At a glance". capita.com. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ a b "The Capita Group Plc Annual Report and Accounts 2016" (PDF). The Capita Group Plc. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- ^ "Capita facts and stats – year end 2009" (PDF). The Capita Group Plc. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
minwage 2021was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
langwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).