Capita Workplace Technology sold in MBO

Founder Paul Gillett buys back the firm he sold in 2011

Capita Workplace Technology has been bought back by its founder through a management buyout.

Paul Gillett - who stayed on after selling Right Document Solutions to Capita back in 2011 - is now back at the helm in the role of chairman, having founded the firm in 1988.

He said: "Over the last nine years Capita did a great job of providing significant infrastructure and scale for the business.

"However, as changes in the digital workplace accelerate, our clients need a more flexible and entrepreneurial approach to maximising staff productivity, managing their data and driving down costs.

"We believe our nationwide reach, proven service track record and wider digital services offerings coupled with a more focused and agile approach will prove to be a winner for our clients."

Capita had acquired Right Document Solutions in 2011 for £30m, plus a deferred consideration of £10m. Annual sales back then were £12.2m.

The business, which will now be known as Right Digital Solutions (RDS), reported sales of £36.5m in 2018, down 14 per cent on the previous year, according to accounts filed with Companies House.

Operating profit swung from £9.2m to a £1.6m loss, which the firm said was a result of increasing expenditure in its sales team to boost revenue, as well has higher settlement values in renewed contracts.

RDS has typically focused on managed print, but claims to have expanded into other areas, including cloud enablement and workflow automation.

Vendor partners include Canon, HP, Microsoft, Xerox and Kyocera.

MD Ian Jones added: "We believe that our new brand and growing capability delivers a fresh approach for the modern workplace whilst building on our strong customer service ethos.

"We are very excited about this new chapter in our company's history and look forward to discussing this with you in the very near future."