French-headquartered Sopra Steria has widened its legal challenge to a UK government outsourcing contract after obtaining an unredacted copy of the agreement between Capita and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The contract covers finance, payroll, HR, and procurement shared services for four departments, and Sopra Steria has been contesting the award since March, alleging the DWP accepted an abnormally low bid.
Newly disclosed terms allegedly include a Project Change Clause that would allow the DWP to amend the contract to expand Capita's technology base or compensate for deficiencies in its tender. Sopra Steria argues this reduces the contingency Capita would otherwise have needed to price into its bid, letting the outsourcer boost its margin while shifting materially greater risk onto the DWP. The DWP denies unequal treatment, saying both bidders received equal time and opportunity to negotiate and the same responses to the same questions.
The two sides also disagree on the contract's value. Capita has said the deal is worth £370 million over ten years, but DWP filings estimate £606.6 million over the initial seven-year term and up to £873.4 million over ten years, including optional services. The DWP stresses that Capita has no automatic entitlement to the additional work. The dispute sits within the wider Synergy programme, which aims to move four departments onto a common SaaS ERP and HR platform, with Oracle and IBM already securing a £711 million contract for the underlying software and integration.