Capita turnaround fuelled by bigger-than-expected Axelos sale price
Capita boss Jon Lewis sparked life into the outsourcer’s protracted turnaround today with a bigger-than-expected sale price for Cabinet Office joint venture Axelos.
Lewis, who is more than three years into his bid to revive the outsourcer’s fortunes, also revealed Capita is on track to deliver revenues growth for the first time in six years.
Today’s announcements gave a more than 6% lift to Capita’s share price, up 2.56p to 40.2p, which has fallen back since March to leave the operator of London’s congestion charge valued at less than the £700 million it raised from investors in an emergency fundraiser in 2018.
Investors have grown frustrated at the time it is taking to sell non-core businesses as Lewis looks to re-focus Capita around public service work and customer management services.
The price tag for today’s proposed 51% stake sale to PeopleCert International represents a substantial chunk of the £200 million-plus of targeted sales Lewis announced in March.
The government is also selling its stake in the Axelos business, which delivers a range of best practice qualifications including on cyber resilience, in a deal worth £380 million overall.
Lewis said Capita’s partnership with the Cabinet Office over the last eight years had created significant value for the company as well as the taxpayer. He added: “Axelos is an excellent example of a successful collaboration between the private sector and the UK Government.”.
Lewis said Capita remained on track to meet its priorities for 2021 after reporting an improved trend in its performance over the first half of the financial year.
