Civica Group
Company typePrivate company
IndustryOutsourcing services and specialist systems
PredecessorThe Sanderson Group
FoundedLondon, UK (2003 (2003))
Headquarters,
Number of locations
11
ServicesService Transformation, Process Improvement, Departmental efficiency, Resource support and optimisation, IT professional services, Mobile working, Software asset management
DivisionsGovernment, Social housing, Enforcement and emergency services, Education and libraries
Websitehttp://www.civicaplc.com

Civica Group Ltd is a market leader in specialist systems and outsourcing services that help organisations improve service delivery and efficiency. Civica is headquartered in London in the United Kingdom. It services around 1,800 customers worldwide with offices in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and North America.


History

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Civica was set up through a management buy-out from the Sanderson Group in 1999, backed by venture capitalist group Alchemy Partners and led by Simon Downing who became chief executive. [1] The Civica Group was officially formed from the public sector business of the Sanderson Group in 2003. The group was subsequently listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004 [2]. It was delisted in 2008 when it was acquired by 3i for £190 million.[3]

Operations

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Civica operates across the following market sectors offering specialised and managed services across the following markets:[4]

  • Local Government
  • Social housing
  • Parking enforcement & public protection
  • Libraries & education
  • Mobile fleet & asset management
  • Public protection
  • Pensions administration
  • Health & social Care
  • Legal

Civica services fall into seven broad categories:

  • Service transformation
  • Process improvement & departmental efficiency
  • Resource support and optimisation
  • Outsourced & managed IT services
  • IT professional services
  • Mobile working
  • Software asset management

Recent examples of Civica projects include:

  • Enfield Council - managed council tax and benefits administration system [5]
  • London Borough of Greenwich - hosted financial system for control and reporting from software [6]
  • Havering Council - assisting internal team’s implementation of an organisation-wide programme to drive efficiency savings
  • Salvation Army Housing Association (SAHA) - Housing Management System and Contact Manager software to the housing association [7]
  • City of York Council - Tranman fleet management system to drive improved utilisation and greater efficiency for its diverse fleet of vehicles
  • London Borough of Redbridge - digital video technology (DVR) as part of its overall CCTV infrastructure to capture bus lane, parking and moving traffic contraventions, streamline administration [8]

Local Government

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Civica provides specialist systems and outsourcing services to local authorities and their partners in the UK, Europe and Australia. Services offered include corporate-level service transformations, [electronic document management] (EDM) systems, managed parking infrastructures, fully integrated IT infrastructures, [e-payment] systems and fully integrated database e-service solutions. The group works with 94 per cent of UK local authorities as well as most police forces in England & Wales. [9]

Its systems manage £4 billion of local revenues and £1 billion in secure electronic transactions per year on behalf of local authorities including Manchester City Council, Sunderland City Council, Hammersmith and Fulham, Enfield and Haringey.

Social housing

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Civica supplies housing management and data systems to housing development agencies with a focus on automating business processes. Solutions offered by Civica include integrated modern front office systems, mobile and collaborative working solutions, back office applications and infrastructure. Around one million social housing properties are managed through Civica systems. [10]

Enforcement

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Civica supplies Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to UK police forces as well as retail centres, hospitals and other commercial premises. The group provides anti-social behavour reporting systems for 170 local authorities to support council and police forces’ community safety partnerships. [11]

Education & Libraries

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Civica provides software and IT solutions to help improve education and learning services – ranging from shared learning environments and leading library management services to software licensing frameworks. The group also provides managed IT services including virtual learning environments (VLE) for schools in Sheffield and Luton under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Civica supplies many thousands of schools and 50 UK universities. [12]

Through its market-leading SPYDUS software, Civica supplies libraries with managed services and computer systems automating stock ordering, lending and tracking systems including the supply of remote access to library catalogues. Civica manages the library systems for the Government of Singapore’s Future Schools initiative. In the UK, Civica provides tailored library services for the eleven library services that are members of the South East Library Management Services (SELMS) consortium – meeting the needs of over three million library users in the region. In total, the group manages over 1,500 libraries world-wide.

Mobile fleet and asset management

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Civica has supplied asset and fleet management services to the public sector for 25 years. The company currently services around 500 customers including around 100 local authorities. Civica offers Tranman fleet software to local government, enterprises and the emergency services. It won Fleet Excellence awards in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 as well as a Green Fleet award in 2006 for its use. [13]

Senior management

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Simon Downing

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Simon Downing is the CEO of Civica. He worked as a graduate engineer with British Leyland and ICL before moving into the IT industry. Downing was responsible for the formation of Civica following the management buyout of Sanderson Group with Alchemy Partners in January 1999. He then led the IPO of Civica plc in March 2004, doubling the profits of the business in three years.[14]

David Roots

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David Roots is Managing Director of Civica’s combined Local Government businesses. After starting his career in banking and accountancy, David Roots joined Olivetti in 1980 to sell specialist systems to the accountancy and legal professions and became the company’s Marketing Manager for the Accountancy Profession in 1983. Roots founded and sold a number of software based businesses between 1984 and 2000 when Roots led the integration of Context and ISE to form Comino’s local government business division. In 2004 Comino was acquired by Civica and in 2007 Roots was appointed Managing Director of Civica’s combined Local Government businesses.

Tim Magness

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Tim Magness is Civica Marketing Director. Tim is a chartered marketer with 18 years experience in the IT industry. He joined Civica in 2002 from communications infrastructure provider MFN where he was director of marketing and sales operations in Europe. Prior to joining MFN in 2000, Tim held a number of marketing management positions at EDS over an eight year period in both central and operating division functions.

Phil Rowland

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Philip Rowland is Civica's Group Finance Director. Phil qualified as a chartered accountant with Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) and then spent six years working for British Aerospace (now BAE SYSTEMS) in various roles in their military aircraft manufacture and support businesses.

He then joined the Capita Group plc and held the position of Finance Director for seven years in a variety of its businesses, culminating as Divisional Finance Director in the Business Services Division. After leaving Capita, Phil moved to Equiniti as UK Finance & Commercial Director, and then joined Civica as Group Finance Director on 1st October 2009.

John Hood

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John Hood is Managing Director for housing and asset management. John is a Chartered Engineer specialising in the development and implementation of new technology. He served as Professional Services Director at Systems Union Group and prior to this, he was the Deputy Managing Director for MIS (UK).

Peter Anderson

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Peter Anderson is managing director for Civica International and was a member of the management group which bought out the Sanderson Group. Peter joined the Sanderson Group in 1996 following the acquisition of his business, Wacher Pty Limited, which he had established in 1989. Peter has been managing director of Civica International since its inception.

Wendy Merry

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As Group Human Resources Director, Wendy Merry brings over fifteen years of experience in organisational development, change management, and human resources to Civica. Wendy joined Civica in Feburary 2005. Previous to this she was Global HR Director for Protagona Worldwide, a CRM software solutions company. She has also worked within a number of other industries including Financial, Legal and Public Services.

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References

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  1. ^ [1] Alchemy Partners Statement regarding Civica investment
  2. ^ [2] "Big Brother's best friend focuses on a float" Telegraph
  3. ^ [3]"Civica set to go private with 3i backing" Financial Times
  4. ^ [4] Civica listed services
  5. ^ [5]Enfield Council contract announcement Public Technology
  6. ^ [6] "Civica to deliver financial systems for Greenwich" Local Government Chronicle
  7. ^ [7]SAHA selects Civica software channelweb.co.uk
  8. ^ [8]"Redbridge deploys video to prosecute drivers" Computer Weekly
  9. ^ [9] "Local government software market dominated by six firms" Computer Weekly
  10. ^ [10]"Where do we go from here?" Inside housing
  11. ^ [11] "Harrow Council adopts ‘zero tolerance’ fraud strategy using Civica Fraud software" BAPCO Journal
  12. ^ [12] "Civica nets bumper BSF deal" Channelweb.co.uk
  13. ^ [13] "Tranman keeps the army moving" Logistics manager
  14. ^ [14]"The software boss programmed-for-national-service" The Telegraph