Capita poaches Go-Ahead finance boss amid restructuring plan

Outsourcing group Capita has snapped up the chief financial officer of transport group Go-Ahead to head up its own finance division.

The company, which runs London's congestion charge scheme and collects the UK's TV licence fee, will announce the move of Patrick Butcher later this week according to reports from Sky News. 

Butcher will takeover from Nick Greatorex, who Capita said would be stepping down last month. He is expected to play a critical role in the firm's turnaround plan, orchestrated by its new chief executive and City pundit Jonathan Lewis.

Two other Capita employees are expected to join the company's board in due course.

Capita said earlier this month that it is on track to score £175m in cost savings as part of the plan by 2020, with a new strategy of focusing on technology-led activities to power up its margins.

The company had suffered a number of profit warnings after margins declined on key government contracts, alarming investors and causing its shares to fall nearly two-thirds in one year.

Capita's profits for the first six months of 2018 tumbled almost 60 per cent compared to the same period in 2017. The company is currently valued at £2.3bn.

Capita and Go-Ahead declined to comment.