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MPS
PITR:
When we last spoke, you said
expansion would come through
a combination of strong organic
growth and a series of strategic
acquisitions. Where have you seen
the biggest success?
Unalkat:
Capita has continued to show
strong growth and profitability across its
Document & Information Services division
in 2015. We’ve seen about a 50:50 split
between organic growth and increased
revenues resulting from the acquisition of
Complete Imaging last year.
This year, we have secured a series of
large Managed Print wins across a range
of sectors including a multi-site aerospace
company, several leading law firms, a
very large NHS Trust and a global media
business, to name but a few. We’re strong
across all vertical markets, but the legal
sector is one area where we are making
huge inroads.
PITR:
You hinted that the company
was in discussions with similar
businesses with a view to making
further acquisitions in the near
future. Have you completed any
acquisitions this year?
Unalkat:
This year our primary focus has
been on integrating Complete Imaging,
which we have done successfully.
PITR:
What’s the plan now? Are you
still looking to purchase businesses
with the right fit or is the focus more
on organic growth?
Unalkat:
We are always looking to grow
the business organically and through
carefully considered acquisitions.
PITR:
Complete Imaging joined the
managed print services arm last year,
and at the time you said you were
actively recruiting to strengthen
that team. How successful have you
been in this and how has Complete
evolved since it became part of
Capita DIS?
Unalkat:
Complete Imaging has
integrated extremely well into Capita’s
core business. It’s been a very good fit
for us and we’ve successfully joined
up all operations. The business overall
is developing well and exceeding our
expectations. The structure is solid, with all
customer contracts and services, including
professional services, sales, customer
support etc., managed by the respective
Capita department heads.
We have continued to trade as
Complete Imaging, but as of January 1
we will move to a single brand, Capita
Document & Information Services. Steve
Ward has moved into a consultant
director’s role, focusing on sales and
customer relationships to support growth.
We have expanded the existing team,
recruiting in a number of areas, including
sales, service, professional services and
finance.
At the beginning of this year, Capita Document & Information Services
(DIS) announced that it planned to triple the size of its business within
the next four years.
PITR
caught up with Alpesh Unalkat, Managing
Director of the company’s managed print business, to find out how it
was progressing.
More of the same
– but bigger
PITR:
What other changes have
you made internally to support the
business growth strategy?
Unalkat:
We’ve increased headcount
across the entire business and made
a number of key hires. These include
appointing a new Head of Professional
Services, as well as a new Regional Sales
Director and a sales team in the South
West. We’ve also expanded the IT and
project management teams.
Our property estate has been refreshed.
We’ve opened a new warehousing
and office facility in Birmingham that’s
almost four times bigger than Complete
Imaging’s old premises, and we will shortly
relocate our London HQ to significantly
larger premises in the heart of the City.
These moves complement the £17 million
investment made last year in a 99,990
square foot, state-of-the-art print and
distribution facility in Mansfield and a
purpose-built MPS Service Centre of
Excellence in Canning Town.
What’s more, the new London base will
work in much the same way as Mansfield, in
that it will act as a model office for clients
to visit, where we will showcase in a live
working environment exactly what Capita
Document & Information Services does.
PITR:
What progress have you
made in providing managed print in
conjunction with the wider services
provided by Capital DIS? Do you
still see this strategy as the biggest
opportunity for growth?
Unalkat:
We have won more new business
as a result of our ability to provide a joined
up suite of services that includes scanning,
storage, archiving and MPS, and that’s
absolutely our strategy going forward.
One insurance sector client, for example,
is leveraging the benefit of all of these
services and the next step is to provide
them with mailroom and security services.
In the future, offering wider capabilities
will be key and this provides us with the
biggest opportunity for growth. 2016 is
about continuing growth; we’re going to
build on the firm foundations in place and
see next year as more of the same – but in
a bigger way!
The new
London base
will act as a
model office
for clients to
visit, where
we will
showcase
exactly
what Capita
Document &
Information
Services does.
Alpesh Unalkat,
managing director,
Capita Document
& Information
Services
