Serco
British company / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Serco?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Serco Group plc is a British multinational defence, health, space, justice, migration, customer services, and transport company.[4] It is headquartered in Hook, Hart, England.[4] The company operates in Continental Europe, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific region, including Australia and Hong Kong, and North America. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Formerly | Dealmove PLC (1986–1987)[1] |
---|---|
Company type | Public limited company |
Industry | Government Services |
Founded | 10 September 1929; 94 years ago (1929-09-10) (as RCA Services Ltd.) |
Headquarters | Hook, Hart, England, UK |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
Revenue | £4,873.8 million (2023)[2] |
£248.7 million (2023)[2] | |
£202.4 million (2023)[2] | |
Number of employees | 50,000 (2023)[3] |
Subsidiaries | |
Website | serco.com |
The company was founded as RCA Services Limited in 1929, a UK-based division of the Radio Corporation of America. The company began providing services to the British War Office and government departments during the Second World War. During the Cold War era, it specialised in the provision of sophisticated defense services, such as sonar, early warning radar and satellite systems. The company was substantially restructuring during the 1980s, reorientated itself towards broader service provision outside of engineering. Following a management buyout, the firm adopted the name Serco ('Services Company') in 1987 and was listed on the London Stock Exchange one year later. During the 1990s, Serco opted to expand its presence globally, seeking out contracts to run a diverse range of services in behalf of various governments.
By 2013, Serco had become one of the largest government contractors,[5] employing approximately 50,000 people worldwide and managing over 500 contracts.[4] By 2022, approximately 55% of the company's revenue was being generated from overseas; with revenue in Defence (32%), justice & immigration (25%), citizen services (21%), health and facilities management (13%), and transport (9%).[6][7]
Serco has encountered controversy on multiple occasions. During 2013, Alastair Lyons, the then-chairman of Serco, resigned from the company after it was found that it had maintained inaccurate records and overcharged the UK Government for electronically monitoring criminals.[8] During July 2015, Serco's contract to operate the Mount Eden remand prison in Auckland, New Zealand was revoked due to reported inaction over organised fighting amongst inmates.[9] The 2017 Paradise Papers revealed that a risk assessment conducted by the legal services firm Appleby observed Serco to have had a "history of problems, failures, fatal errors and overcharging" accompanied by allegations of fraud and cover-ups.[10] Serco underwent a corporate renewal program following the events of 2013, created in collaboration with the United Kingdom government, which overhauled the management of contracts and commercial auditing.[11]