Kainos lands £150m Defra digital transformation deal

Belfast-headquartered IT services player deepens UK public sector footprint as Defra looks to accelerate AI-enabled digital services and modernise legacy systems

Kainos has secured a contract worth up to £150m with the UK government’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), in a major win for the services provider’s public sector business.

The agreement forms part of Defra’s Application Development and Maintenance Services Plus (ADMS Plus) framework and will see Kainos support the department’s “digital-first ambitions” across areas including biosecurity, flood risk management, water regulation and wildlife conservation.

Under the deal, which runs for an initial four years with an optional one-year extension, Kainos will deliver application development, maintenance and support services, alongside AI-enabled delivery capabilities, DevOps and data management expertise.

“We are delighted to have been appointed to the Defra ADMS Plus contract and to be partnering with Defra to deliver high-impact digital services that restore nature, support growth and enhance security,” said Daniel Kemp, digital services director at Kainos.

“We are proud of our 12-year history working together to deliver critical programmes such as EU Exit, Border Target Operating Model and digital inspection systems to protect biosecurity, and we are looking forward to contributing to the protection of our natural resources moving forward.”

The latest contract further strengthens Kainos’ long-standing position in the UK public sector market, where it has built a sizeable digital transformation practice around central government departments and agencies.

Kainos has increasingly positioned itself as a specialist in AI and cloud-led public sector transformation.

Revenue from AI and data-related projects increased 11 per cent to £45.8m for the year ended 31 March.

The company claims to be among the largest AI suppliers to the UK public sector since 2018, with more than £66m in AI and data contracts delivered across government and healthcare.