Capita Group snaps up travel agent for biz types Expotel
Outsourcer will book events and travel for firms like BP
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Business process outsourcing group Capita, daddy to Capita IT Services, has slurped business travel booking agent Expotel Group for £16m.
Capita grabbed Expotel, which handles UK hotel, business travel and conference booking, to snap onto its existing business travel operations and provide events management as well.
Expotel brings with it clients like Virgin Media, the Scottish government and BP and it made an operating profit of £32m on turnover of £16.3m in the fiscal year ending in October 2011.
"The combined company will employ nearly 900 staff in 10 locations and will be able to offer both bespoke, niche solutions and a unique end-to-end travel proposition to its current and future clients," Capita chief exec Paul Pindar enthused.
"In particular, with the public sector needing to drive down travel and subsistence costs, it will be in a strong position to help local and central government achieve these aims."
While Capita IT Services has been cutting costs and staff to get back on track, Capita Group as a whole saw a 7 per cent rise in sales for 2011 and slightly lower but still good pre-tax profits of £302.9m. ®
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COMMENTS
Profitable, no?
"operating profit of £32m on turnover of £16.3m"
Now that is impressive!
"travel solutions"
"both bespoke, niche solutions and a unique end-to-end travel proposition to its current and future clients"
And if it's anything like the "travel solutions" [Agent X] used to force on the employees of the global corporate where I used to work, the company will be paying way above the going open market rate, but Purchasing will insist you use [Agent X] because if you don't use [Agent X] Purchasing don't get their end of year kickbacks of one form or another.
Net benefit overall to the employee and employer: zero or negative.
Net benefit to the "travel solutions" provider, and Purchasing: that'll do nicely, thank you.
Standby..
for asset stripping and leaving the business to bleed to death.

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