Martyn Hart, NOA Chairman, has commented on Capita shares downgraded from 'buy'

“City analysts who have downgraded Capita from ‘buy’ are taking an extremely short term view. Capita is a massive player in the public sector. Although the value of four of its existing contracts has shrunk because of cutbacks, it has nearly £5 billion worth of work in the pipeline! Following the Open Public Services white paper - which means all public sector organisations are now free to hire the most efficient provider, regardless of ownership - there is going to be so much more work available for support services companies.

"Capita is among the most experienced, and is in a great position to take full advantage of the devolution of buying power to a local level. Capita is converting a smaller percentage of its profits to cash as part of their acquisition strategy – a move that will bring in even more business. City analysts need to look deeper into situations than merely scanning profit/loss and cashflow. Although that is important of course, the National Outsourcing Association suggests that for investors taking a more mid-term view, this could be an excellent time to be buying shares in support service providers like Capita.”