Outsourcing titan Capita Group has been chosen as a preferred bidder for a seven-year £200m contract to provide Sheffield City Council with IT and related services.

The company takes over the contract from Liberata and Affiniti and 450 staff from the previous suppliers will be transferred to Capita under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) regulations. Capita has been tasked with providing the council with a range of IT services and will also support a number of business transformation initiatives. The first two of these will cover customer services and flexible working.

Closing negotiations for the £200m contract are underway and work is expected to begin in January. The initial deal spans seven years, with the option of extending it for two subsequent three year periods.

Capita chief executive Paul Pindar said: “We are delighted to have been selected as preferred bidder for this exciting opportunity which extends further our presence in Sheffield. We look forward to working with the Council in bringing about service improvements and efficiencies for the citizens of Sheffield.

"We will draw on our extensive experience of transforming public services across local government bringing additional capacity and capability to ensure that the Council and the local community really benefit from this partnership. We welcome all staff who transfer to Capita and look forward to working with them.”

Cllr Simon Clement Jones, Sheffield City Council cabinet member for finance and customer focussed services, added: “We said we would make Sheffield City Council more efficient and better for customers and this change is a huge statement of our determination to deliver that for the people of Sheffield. There will be benefits for the environment too, as the Council will be reducing its carbon footprint. Above all, there will be a step change for the better in these services, for our customers, the people of Sheffield.”