Serco acquires immigration services provider ORS

Government services provider Serco has agreed to acquire ORS, a specialist provider of immigration services to public sector customers in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Italy.

Serco said on Thursday that it will make a total consideration of up to CHF 44.0m (£39.0m) for ORS, which generated CHF 110.0m (£97.0m) in the twelve months ended 31 December 2021.

The FTSE 250-listed group noted that the acquisition of the Switzerland-based ORS will both add scale to its European operations and provide "reach and capability" to its position in immigration services.

Chief executive Rupert Soames said: "We have a deep expertise in providing immigration services with care and respect. This strategic acquisition will enable us to work with and support government customers across Europe who have a continuous and growing requirement for immigration and asylum seeker support services.

"The acquisition will also support our objective of strengthening our European business, roughly doubling its size and increasing the range of services provided."

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com