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Sopra Steria has expanded its legal challenge to Capita’s award of a government shared-services contract, alleging that terms in the unredacted agreement gave Capita an advantage and shifted risk to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). DWP disputes that bidders were treated unequally. The allegations remain unresolved: the available reporting records no court finding that the procurement breached the rules.
Why is Sopra Steria challenging the award?
Sopra Steria, which reported coverage identifies as the unsuccessful bidder and the provider of services for some participating departments through its SSCL unit, began challenging the award after Capita was named the winner in March 2026. SSCL was formerly a joint venture with the UK government and is now wholly owned by Sopra Steria.
The original challenge alleged that DWP accepted an “abnormally low” Capita bid based on staffing significantly below current levels. Sopra Steria widened its case after obtaining an unredacted copy of the Capita-DWP contract. The Register reported the expanded claims on 1 October 2026; its account describes allegations, not findings by a court. The Register’s report
What Sopra Steria alleges
Sopra Steria says a Project Change Clause could allow DWP to fund technology to compensate for deficiencies in Capita’s tender. In its account, that possibility reduced the risk Capita needed to price into its bid. It also alleges that responsibilities taken on by DWP shifted delivery risk to the department, and that equivalent terms were not offered to Sopra Steria.
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Those are the company’s allegations. The contract itself and the underlying court pleadings were not directly reviewed in the reporting available here, so the clause’s practical effect and whether it created unequal treatment have not been independently established.
How DWP and Capita respond
DWP says both bidders had equal time and opportunity to negotiate, and that bidders received the same response when they raised the same question or request. The department says negotiation concessions were disclosed only to the bidder that sought them, so any differences reflected the issues Capita raised rather than unequal treatment. DWP declined to comment on the live case, saying: “We don’t comment on live legal proceedings.”
Capita said it took part in a robust procurement process and was ready to work with DWP on a smooth transition, with value for money for the public as its priority. That is the company’s position, not a judicial conclusion. The Register’s report reproduces Capita’s statement with the wording “work with the DUP”; because that appears to be a possible typo, it is not silently corrected or presented here as a verified quotation.
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What does the contract cover?
The contract is for finance, payroll, human resources, procurement and other shared services used by four departments:
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- Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which leads the programme
- Ministry of Justice
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Home Office
The arrangement sits within the Synergy shared-services programme. Its aim is to move the departments onto a common software-as-a-service enterprise resource planning (ERP) and HR platform, alongside shared business processes. It is distinct from the reported £711 million Oracle and IBM contract for ERP software and systems integration. The Register reported about £1.7 billion in total contracts for technology suppliers across the wider programme; that broader figure should not be confused with Capita’s services contract. The Register’s account of the award and programme
Why is the deal described as £370 million and up to £873.4 million?
The figures refer to different measures and contract scopes, not rival prices for an identical package. Capita’s reported figure is a ten-year transaction price or order-book value, while DWP’s figures are estimated values calculated over specified periods and include work beyond the initial service term.
| Reported figure | What it measures |
|---|---|
| £370 million | Capita’s reported ten-year transaction price or order-book value in 2026. The figure excludes change and expansion services expected during the contract. |
| £606.6 million | DWP’s reported estimated undiscounted value for the initial seven-year term in 2026. |
| £873.4 million | DWP’s reported estimated undiscounted value over a maximum of ten years in 2026, including estimated projects and optional services. DWP says Capita has no automatic entitlement to that additional work. |
| £958.7 million | DWP’s 2024 tender-stage estimate for ten years including extensions, as reported in coverage of the original challenge. It is an earlier estimate, not the same measure as Capita’s reported transaction value. |
| £711 million | Reported value of the separate Oracle and IBM ERP software and systems integration deal. |
Accordingly, the £370 million figure should not be read as a cap on all potential programme work, and £873.4 million is not a guaranteed payment to Capita. The reported estimates differ in timing, duration and included services. The Register’s report of the figures and contract terms The Register’s coverage of the original challenge and tender estimate
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DWP launched the competition in September 2024. Capita was announced as the winner in March 2026, when Sopra Steria was already challenging the award. On 26 August 2026, The Register reported a trial date in early 2028, subject to the parties’ attempts to settle the case out of court. The subsequent 1 October report described Sopra Steria’s expanded claims after it obtained the unredacted agreement. The reporting cited here establishes no settlement, judgment or finding on the merits.
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