Support services group Mouchel Parkman has acquired business processing outsourcing (BPO) firm HBS for £46m, extending its presence in the government outsourcing market.
The two companies already work together in a £300m 12-year strategic services partnership in Oldham through the Unity Partnership. They also recently won preferred bidder status for a 10-year ISiS partnership with Somerset County Council, both as subcontractors to IBM.
HBS’ managed service contracts will continue to be led by the existing HBS partnership directors, while the number of Mouchel Parkman employees will increase by 3,000 to about 11,000.
Richard Cuthbert, chief executive of Mouchel Parkman, said: “The business process outsourcing market in the UK is currently worth more than £4bn, growing at nearly 10% per annum. We see great potential for increasing our market share, most obviously in the local government market, particularly as a result of the government’s shared service agenda, but in other sectors too.”
Peter Manning, chief executive of HBS, added: “Having spent the last three years stabilising and then starting to grow HBS again, the company is in ideal shape to join forces with Mouchel Parkman, a business that we know and respect.”
