Outsourcer Capita’s shares jump on revamp

Shares in Capita jumped 13 per cent yesterday after the outsourcing firm said its turnaround was gaining traction.

Capita, which put out two profit warnings in the final quarter of 2016 and ousted its chief executive in March, said that as a result of various initiatives trading will “continue to steadily improve”. The shares closed up. The company also confirmed it has entered an “exclusive engagement” with British Airways to explore forming a partnership to support the airline’s global customer contact operations, which handle 9.5 million calls per year.

A deal with BA would likely see the airline’s call centres in Manchester and Newcastle, which employ 1,400 people, outsourced to Capita. BA was bitterly criticised after a recent IT meltdown affecting thousands of customers was blamed by critics on aggressive cost cutting.

Capita, which held its AGM yesterday, has come under fire from unions over planned changes to its defined benefit pension scheme.