The Cabinet Office is in discussions with Sopra Steria about possibly selling its stake in their Shared Services Connected Ltd (SSCL) joint venture to the company.
Sopra Steria said the department has an option to sell its share of the operation – which provides shared services such as HR, payroll, procurement and pensions administration to public sector organisations – under the terms of the original contract.
It emphasised that no decision has yet been made, but that if a sale takes place it would take over SSCL as a wholly owned subsidiary.
Emphasis on stability
The company said there are no plans to change the leadership of the joint venture and there would be no impact on the services it provides to its clients.
SSCL was launched in 2013 and has become a major provider of business support services to the UK Government, the Ministry of Defence and organisations including the Metropolitan Police and Construction Industry Training Board.
Between 2014-2023 it has trebled its revenues and increased the number of employees from around 2,000 to over 3,000.
