Capita has made a successful bid to take control of Constructionline in a deal worth £35 million.

A statement released by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BiS) called the tendering process, which launched last summer, “an open competitive sales process”.

Constructionline was established in 1998 by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions: the government department that went on to be replaced by BiS. It collates pre-qualification data and names of construction suppliers that have already passed industry checks. It currently has a database of around 23,000 companies.

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Professional services company Capita has previously operated Contructionline under a concession agreement.

Business minister Matthew Hancock said the sale of Constructionline was intended “to cut red tape further by freeing of Government ownership”.

“Capita now has an exciting opportunity to expand its valued services to meet the needs of the construction industry and especially small and medium sized businesses,” he said.

“Commercial ownership will enable the business, which has built up a strong reputation for reducing duplication and tender costs within the sector since its establishment in 1998, to achieve its full potential.”

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