62 staff set to go at Colchester base.

Capita is to axe 62 staff and is in negotiations over selling off parts of its business.

The affected employees are based at its Capita Assistance business in Colchester. The job losses, revealed first by Insurancetimes.co.uk, will be confirmed by the end of January after consultations end.

A spokesman said the outsourcing specialist was also in discussions with “a number of parties” over selling parts of the business, including legal, medical expenses and live claims operations.

“We are looking at a number of possible options ... including a managed run-off of the contracts and/or a transfer of all or part of the business to external third parties. It is possible Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations may apply in certain instances.”

Capita Group delivered a more upbeat message during its interim statement last Tuesday, saying it was confident full-year results would be in line with expectations and that it expected to perform well in 2009.

The company said it had won outsourcing contracts worth £1.2bn.

Analysts are expecting full-year pre-tax profit to hit £265.9m, up from £228.7m last year, according to a survey by Reuters Estimates.

“With the contracts won this year, trading prospects across our businesses looking steady and a buoyant bid pipeline, we have the ingredients in place to perform well in 2009 and beyond,” the company’s trading statement said.

“We have focused on successfully implementing the major contracts won in late 2007 and in the first half of 2008 and we have secured further significant contracts since then.

“The market for outsourcing opportunities remains buoyant, as evidenced by our recent sales success and the current level of sales activity across the group.”

Insurance Times Fantasy Football