Serco Group has announced that it has acquired The Listening Company, a UK based provider of outsourced customer contact centre services to both private and public sector organisations, for an initial cash consideration of £42.1m which includes the repayment of £16.4m of debt. In addition, contingent payments of up to £13.8m are payable, conditional on the financial performance in the two year period from 1 March 2011 to the end of February 2013.

The Listening Company specialises in bespoke solutions for managing customer interaction ranging from customer acquisition to retention, renewal and growth and including advice and service. It operates across multiple communication channels including email, telephone and internet.

The Listening Company's revenue for the year to 31 October 2010 is expected to be £82m with underlying operating profit of £4.4m before one-off investment. Following full integration into Serco's Local Government & Commercial division, The Listening Company operating margin is expected to be at least in line with Serco.

Christopher Hyman, Chief Executive of Serco Group plc, said: "This acquisition takes us to a new level of contact centre operation, expanding the services we offer to both the private and public sector as they seek to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their contact centre operations. It will not only enhance our offering in bids for local authority transformation programmes, an important part of their solution to the challenges in the UK, but also strengthen our private sector capability."