Capita boss to quit amid profit fall

Capita, the outsourcing company that operates the London congestion charge, has said its chief executive is stepping down after it reported a big fall in profits.

The firm said Andy Parker would step down later this year once a replacement had been found.

The news came as it revealed that annual pre-tax profits had fallen 33% to £74.8m.

Capita has also been under fire over the way it collects the TV licence fee.

Capita, which collects the fee on behalf of the BBC, is now under investigation by the corporation after allegations that its collectors targeted vulnerable people, spurred on by an aggressive incentive scheme.

In addition, the company will drop out of the UK's FTSE 100 index of leading shares later this month because its share price has fallen sharply.

That decline continued on Thursday, as the company's shares dropped 1.2% in early trading.

Transition predicted

Mr Parker said 2016 had been "a challenging year" and Capita had "delivered a disappointing performance".

He added that this year was likely to be one of transition, with Capita not expected to return to growth until 2018.

In September last year, the firm issued a profit warning after delays in implementing new IT systems for the congestion charge.

It has also seen a slowdown in other parts of its business and delays in client decision-making, which it said were probably "compounded by the UK's referendum decision to leave the EU market".

Capita employs 75,000 people in the UK, Europe, India and South Africa.