Xansa plc, trading as Xansa, was a British

outsourcing Outsourcing is a business practice in which companies use external providers to carry out business processes that would otherwise be handled internally. Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to another ...

and

technology company A technology company (or tech company) is a company that focuses primarily on the manufacturing, support, research and development of—most commonly computing, telecommunication and consumer electronics–based—technology-intensive products and ...

, and was quoted on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

until 17 October 2007 when the purchase of Xansa by Steria was completed and the company was delisted. Its

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

were in Reading, Berkshire,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and it had a major presence in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In the 2007

financial year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

the company had a turnover of UK£379.7 million.

History

The company began as ''Freelance Programmers'', established in 1962 by Stephanie "Steve" Shirley. Two years later it was incorporated as ''Freelance Programmers Limited''."Comment and Analysis" report by Pam Kingsley. Shirley wanted to create job opportunities for women with dependants, and predominantly employed women: there were only three male programmers in the first 300 staff, until the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 made that practice illegal. Her team's projects included programming

Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...

's black box flight recorder.Report by Sue Austin. She was due to be attending Oswestry Literary Festival to publicise her autobiography. In 1974 it became '' F International''; the 'F' standing originally for Freelance but increasingly for Flexible and Free, too.Kinsman, F. (1987) ''The Telecommuters''. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. By the late 1970s Steve Shirley had recognised that, as founder entrepreneur, it was time to let go and in 1987, with Hilary Cropper's appointment as CEO, was able to bow out. F International became F.I.Group in 1988, and in 1991 Steve Shirley gave a controlling interest in FI to the workforce. In March 1996 FI was floated on the London Stock Exchange. Between 1997 and 2000 FI acquired IIS Infotech Limited, an Indian computer services company based in New Delhi; OSI - a London-based business consulting and management support services company, and Reading-based IT consultancy company Druid. In April 2001 the company's name was changed to Xansa. In June 2007, Alistair Cox - the CEO since August 2002 - announced his resignation. His role was taken up by the Chairman, Bill Alexander. It was announced on 27 July to the London Stock Exchange that the company was in advanced talks regarding a possible takeover. On 30 July 2007, Groupe Steria SCA announced a recommended cash offer for Xansa Plc of 130p per share. The purchase of Xansa was completed via a scheme of arrangement by Steria on 17 October 2007 and the company was delisted from the

Industries

Xansa operated across several business sectors, with divisions in banking, insurance, public sector, retail, telecoms, transport, logistics and utilities. Xansa also had some smaller clients, including a high-profile partnership wit
Renault F1
and had a logo on the F1 car.

References

External links

Company Website
{{Authority control Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Companies based in Reading, Berkshire

History

Industries

See also

References

External links