Serco acquires Cornwell

Public sector VAR buys consulting firm to boost presence in services market

Reseller Serco has entered an agreement to acquire Cornwell Management Consultants for £7m.

Serco said in statement that the move will help it to extend its services offering around information and knowledge management, particularly electronic document record management systems. It will also increase Serco’s capacity in project and programme management and enterprise architecture.

Keith Cornwell, executive chairman of Cornwell, said in the statement: “We are pleased to be joining a group as strong as Serco. Cornwell has made an encouraging start to 2007 with substantial orders and a promising prospects pipeline. We believe that combining our reputation for high quality management and IT consultancy, with Serco’s capabilities, financial resources and intention to invest in the combined consultancy businesses, will enhance Serco’s ability to develop a substantial consultancy business in the medium term.”

Christopher Hyman, chief executive of Serco, said: "Our consulting business has grown rapidly over the past four years and our ambition is for it to be a leading enabler of business transformation. The acquisition of Cornwell is an important step, increasing our capabilities and capacity to provide high value advice to our
customers. We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues to Serco and taking on the exciting opportunities in this market.”