Carillion sells Cisco reseller arm

Capita has become the latest IT giant to buy a Cisco Gold partner after agreeing a £36m deal for Carillion IT Services (CITS).

CITS is the external-facing IT services business of building giant Carillion. The business was acquired by Carillion in February 2008 as part of its takeover of rival Alfred McAlpine.

Capita said the purchase would bolster its IT Services division and expand its presence in Scotland, where almost half of CITS’ 440 staff work.

CITS focuses on outsourcing, managed services and network infrastructure and is forecast to record an operating profit of £3.7m on revenue of £66m for 2009. It was recently named as Cisco’s Scottish Partner of the Year.

It is not the only Cisco Gold partner to have been picked off by a larger predator in recent months. Last year saw Minx sell up to global reseller Insight Enterprises and s2s agree a deal with Bailey Teswaine, following on from BT's acquisition of Lynx in 2007.

Paul Pindar, chief executive of the Capita Group, said: “The acquisition of CITS will significantly enhance and expand Capita’s position in the IT services market.

“CITS also has a strong presence in Scotland which will support our aim to continue building our operations and offering in Scotland.”

Noel McNulty, managing director of CITS, said: “I am confident that bringing together CITS with Capita IT Services will mean that we are able to offer even more comprehensive solutions to all our clients and realise our full combined potential in the market.”