Serco aquires Vertex Public Sector Ltd

In a move that will extend and reinforce its range of business process outsourcing (BPO) services to the public sector, Serco has acquired Vertex Public Sector Limited, the UK public sector operations of Vertex Data Science Limited, for cash consideration of £55.5m.

The acquisition brings additional skills and capabilities to support expansion into new areas of middle and back office support and adds further scale to our recently created Global Services division to extend the services it provides to both local and central government.

David Poole, CEO for Serco’s European BPO business believes the latest acquisition will enhance the company’s capabilities offering a unique end-to-end service to those customers considering large-scale outsourcing projects. “As well as providing us with additional client services, this acquisition fits into our public sector strategy by securing our position as the leading local government provider of middle and back office services. It better positions us to bring innovation and transformation across the sector and is another significant step for our BPO capabilities within the public sector as we work with local authorities and government departments to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and maximise outcomes for citizens.”

Vertex Public Sector Limited employs 3,000 members of staff based in 8 locations across the UK including Bolton, Cardiff, Liverpool, Grays in Essex and Dingwall in Scotland. It provides dedicated BPO services to both local and central government, including Westminster and Thurrock Councils, The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) and Job Centre Plus. Its work in multi-channel contact centres, shared transactional services and ICT services will reinforce Serco’s existing resources in similar areas. However, it will also add significant scale and skills in other areas such as HR and payroll, revenues and benefits, complex case management and remote administrative services.

This acquisition follows those made last year, including Intelenet Global Services, a leader in international BPO, The Listening Company, a specialist UK contact centre business, and Excelior covering the Australian market. It is further evidence of Serco’s growing capability in the provision of BPO services for a range of customers from both the public and private sectors. It enhances the company’s UK on-shore capability, which is part of Serco’s wider Global Services BPO business with operations based in 10 countries providing a full range of front, middle and back office solutions.