Civica planning £50m flotation

CIVICA is running the rule over financial advisers ahead of a planned stock market flotation. It is believed that the group, which supplies IT services and software to more than 700 local authorities in Britain, America and Australia, will float on the Alternative Investment Market in the first quarter of next year.

A flotation is expected to value Civica at about £50m. The group's turnover was reported at £86.5m in the year to September 2002.

Civica supplies software and IT services to 47 of Britain's 53 police forces, more than 250 NHS trusts and health authorities and more than 250 libraries around the world.

Its products include the software used by London traffic wardens in their hand-held computers.

The business, based in Putney, south-west London, was formerly known as Sanderson Group. It was taken private in a £114.5m management buyout backed by venture capital firm Alchemy Partners in December 1999.

It is headed by chief executive Simon Downing, who joined Sanderson in 1994.