Astron homes in on Experian deal

ONE of the main rivals to outsourcing giant Capita was set to land its second major deal in a fortnight today by sealing a £50m contract with credit-checking specialist Experian.

Astron, which prints British Airways' tickets and manages Centrica's billing system, is taking over the running of Experian's print and mail operation for the next five years.

The deal comes days after Astron won the Scottish Executive's print and design contract and comes amid growing speculation that the firm will look to float early next year.

Chief executive David Mitchell hired City spinners Tulchan this month to raise the group's profile, and insiders claim a £500m stock market listing will follow.

Such a move would lead to a windfall for private equity backer PPM Ventures, which has an undisclosed majority stake in the business. It denies a float is on the cards.

Mitchell has made little secret of his desire to build Astron into a £1bn business and has bought smaller rival Edotech and several outsourcing operations from logistics group Hays in the past year.

He said: 'Our contract with Experian fits perfectly with our model of proving clients with a full end-to-end business process outsourcing service.'

Experian's print and mail arm handles statements and credit-card mailings for a host of financial services companies. It employs more than 100 staff.