Serco tagging trial falls through after SFO declines to offer evidence April 26, 2021 Two former Serco executives have been cleared of defrauding the Ministry of Justice after the SFO declined to offer evidence. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) brought claims against Nicholas Woods and Simon Marshall, who were accused of “defrauding the taxpayer” by concealing £12m in profits related to an electronic tagging contract for offenders. Today a [...]
City of London Corporation appoints new top team to lead transformational change April 16, 2021 Following its decision in December 2020 to endorse a new Operating Model, the City of London Corporation’s governing Court of Common Council today welcomed the appointment of eight new senior officers and formally confirmed the appointment of the first woman as Chamberlain, the Corporation’s Chief Financial Officer, since the post was created in 1237. Chair [...]
Capita announces major restructure alongside plans to raise £700m March 17, 2021 Outsourcing giant Capita has announced a fresh restructuring plan alongside efforts to raise £700m from selling non-core assets, as it seeks to recover from a difficult year during the pandemic. The group, which provides IT-led business services to the public and private sector, will simplify its six operations into three divisions. Capita Public Service will [...]
Serco nets new £870m support services contract in Canada March 17, 2021 Outsourcer Serco has this morning won a £870m contract to provide support services at a military base in Canada. The FTSE 250 firm has been providing non-military maintenance services at the Goose Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador province since 1998. For its initial 10 years, the deal is worth a maximum £400m, with the firm [...]
Serco, Deloitte and Amazon bosses coached on how to apply for New Years Honours March 11, 2021 Contractors, consulting giants and big businesses who profited from the coronavirus pandemic are being offered tailored advice on how to apply for New Years Honours. Serco and Amazon are among a number of industry giants being asked to nominate staff members for official honours from the Queen such as MBEs. The revelations emerged after invitations [...]
Serco boss: Pandemic proves importance of private and public sector co-operation February 25, 2021 The coronavirus pandemic has shown how strong the government and private sector can be when they work together, the boss of Serco, which is running the NHS Test and Trace service, has said. Speaking to CityAM, Rupert Soames defended the much-maligned system, saying that after some initial challenges it was now a “world-beating” programme. He [...]
Bin firm Biffa snaps up surplus food collectors Company Shop for £80m February 25, 2021 Waste disposal firm Biffa today said that it has bought surplus food group Company Shop for £82.5m. Company Shop, which describes itself as the country’s biggest surplus food firm, collects waste items and then redistributes them to its member organisations. Surplus produce can include production overruns, trial products, or produce that has been incorrectly labelled [...]
British Gas owner Centrica falls to £360m loss as warm weather and lower prices bite February 25, 2021 British Gas owner Centrica said today that it fell to a £362m statutory loss due to a combination of coronavirus, lower commodities prices, and a spell of warm weather. The loss is less than half the £783m hit the firm reported last year. It also said it would not pay out a divided for last [...]
Wall Street tanks as tech stocks drag down market February 25, 2021 Wall Street has tanked today, with technology stocks in particularly dragging down the markets. The S&P 500 was down more than 2 per cent at one point, and retreating technology stocks dragged the Nasdaq down more than 3 per cent, as the benchmark 10-year note yields surged above 1.6 per cent to the highest in [...]
Opinion: We need to stop calling it ‘NHS’ Test and Trace February 21, 2021 Who runs NHS Test and Trace? “Surely the NHS?”, you might say. Not according to NHS England’s boss, Sir Simon Stevens. When quizzed by the Health and Science Committee last month, Stevens said: “I can’t comment specifically on Test and Trace because that is run by the Department of Health and Social Care rather than [...]