Serco
Serco Group plc is a London-listed international provider of professional, technology, and management services to government clients across defense, justice, immigration, transport, healthcare, and citizen services in four regions, with FY2025 revenue of £4.9bn.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersReston, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Serco does
Serco Group plc is an international provider of professional, technology, and management services to government clients, headquartered in Hook, Hampshire (UK) and listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: SCP.L). The company reported FY2025 revenue of £4.9bn (£5,392m including joint ventures and associates), operating across four regions — UK & Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East — with a global workforce of more than 50,000. Serco serves central governments, defense departments, correctional authorities, immigration agencies, transport operators, and public healthcare providers under long-term, negotiated contracts.
The company organizes operations around five service lines: Defence, Justice & Immigration, Transport, Health & Facilities Management, and Citizen Services. Underlying capabilities span service design, advisory, complex programme management, systems integration, case management, engineering, and asset & facilities management. Notable technology assets include the USX-1 Defiant autonomous surface vessel built under DARPA's NOMARS program, satellite ground network communications software acquired with the $327m MT&S purchase from Northrop Grumman, digital twin simulation tools for defense manufacturing, and Boomi's AI-enabled integration platform deployed across Asia Pacific. Acquired subsidiaries include ORS (European immigration, 2022), Climatize (Middle East sustainability consultancy, 2024), and MT&S (US defense, 2025).
Serco's revenue model is contract-based, monetized through multi-year and multi-decade managed service agreements (Canada FaCT is 25 years; Norfolk and Norwich facilities management exceeds 25 years; retention rates exceed 90%). The company is sales-led via direct engagement with government procurement, with two-thirds of 2025 order intake coming from defense. Customers are exclusively government entities, including the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Navy, DARPA, Royal Canadian Air Force, UK Home Office, New Zealand Department of Corrections, Transport for London, and Abu Dhabi government. FY2025 financials included £272m underlying operating profit (5.6% margin, targeting 6.0% in 2026), £219m free cash flow (112% trading cash conversion), and £206m adjusted net debt with 0.7x EBITDA leverage — well below the 1-2x target range.
Serco firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Serco
- Legal name
- Serco Group plc
- Website
- https://serco.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Serco Group plc is a London-listed international provider of professional, technology, and management services to government clients across defense, justice, immigration, transport, healthcare, and citizen services in four regions, with FY2025 revenue of £4.9bn.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Serco industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Government Services Outsourcing
- NAICS
- National Security and International Affairs (9281), Regulation and Administration of Transportation Programs (92612)
- SIC
- International Affairs (9721), Services-Management Services (8741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Maritime & Port Authorities (Public Ports, Harbors, Ferries Terminals) (BPAIALAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Regulatory & Sanctions Compliance Screening for Maritime Operations (Trade Controls, AML) (TLAHANAL)
Keywords
Where Serco is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Reston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
Serco business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Defence Services: Provides defense services including military training, simulation, base operations, maritime services, and space program support to government defense clients. Revenue in 2025 was £4,876.8m including share of joint ventures and associates.
- Justice & Immigration Services: Manages immigration processing, asylum accommodation, detention centers, and correctional facilities for government clients.
- Health & Facilities Management: Provides integrated facilities management including catering, laundry, waste management, security, grounds maintenance, and clinical workforce solutions to healthcare providers and hospitals.
- Transport Services: Operates transport systems including ferries, airports, railways, and cycle hire schemes for government transport authorities.
- Citizen Services: Delivers government citizen services including contact centers, case management, and digital transformation for public sector clients.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Facilities Management Contract - Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital |
| Other | Multi-year contract | US Army Mission Support Contract |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Canada Future Aircrew Training (FaCT) Program |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Serco product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Serco is an international provider of critical government services delivering integrated solutions across defense, justice & immigration, transport, health & facilities management, and citizen services. The company contracts directly with government agencies to operate large-scale public services including military training, immigration processing, correctional facilities, healthcare facilities management, and transport systems, leveraging service design, programme management, systems integration, and engineering capabilities.
Product overview
Serco is an international provider of critical government services operating across four regions (UK & Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East). The company offers a portfolio of integrated services organized around five core sectors: Defence, Justice & Immigration, Transport, Health & Facilities Management, and Citizen Services. Core capabilities include service design and advisory, resourcing, complex programme management, systems integration, case management, engineering, and asset & facilities management. The product portfolio consists of sector-specific service offerings supplemented by acquired specialized businesses such as Mission Training and Space (MT&S) for defense simulation and training, and Climatize for sustainability consulting in the Middle East. Serco delivers services through long-term government contracts spanning facilities management, immigration processing, defense support, transport operations, and citizen services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Defence Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Revenue of £4.9bn in 2025, up 3% at constant currency including 1% organic growth
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Serco
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Serco technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature3 records
Serco partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- U.S. NavycoreSerco was awarded a position on the $452.9 million Navy ADNS (Automated Digital Network System) contract for production and sustainment of tactical wide area network systems supporting Navy communications across surface ships, submarines, aircraft, and tactical shore sites. The eight-year IDIQ contract runs through May 2034 with work in California and Virginia.
- Boomi (Dell Technologies)supportingSerco leverages Boomi's Enterprise Platform and AI agents (Boomi Scribe and Boomi DesignGen) to modernize integration operations across the Asia Pacific region. The deployment has significantly reduced documentation time from 2-3 hours to 10-15 minutes, streamlining data flows, master data management, and API connectivity. The partnership reflects a shift toward low-code, AI-enabled integration strategies.
- DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)coreSerco was the primary contractor for DARPA's No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) program, building the USX-1 Defiant - the world's first ship designed entirely without provisions for human crews. The 180-foot autonomous surface vessel features self-navigation, autonomous refueling, and modular payload configurations. Following demonstration, the vessel will transfer to the U.S. Navy to serve as a building block for future uncrewed surface vessels.
- Solutions+ (Mubadala's Business Consultancy)coreSerco and Solutions+ announced a strategic partnership to expand Khadamat Facilities Management L.L.C. in Abu Dhabi, consolidating Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) service contracts under one entity to create a national IFM champion in the UAE. The agreement combines Solutions+'s digital and operational transformation expertise with Serco's international IFM capabilities. Signed between Nasir Al Nabhani, MD of Solutions+, and Phil Malem, CEO of Serco Middle East, with Anthony Kirby and Dr Bakheet Al Katheeri as witnesses.
- SkyAlyne (Partnership of CAE and KF Aerospace)coreSerco was named a key subcontractor on Canada's Future Aircrew Training (FaCT) program, providing critical training enablers including air navigation services, air traffic control, site services, facility maintenance, and security at Royal Canadian Air Force bases in Moose Jaw, Southport, and Winnipeg. The 25-year program consolidates three separate RCAF training programs. The partnership builds on Serco's long-standing involvement in Canadian military training since 1998.
- Northrop GrummancoreSerco completed the acquisition of Northrop Grumman's Mission Training and Satellite (MT&S) ground network communications software business for $327 million. The deal significantly expanded Serco's defense sector, which now comprises about 40% of group revenue and 50% of profit. MT&S provides training and simulator services to the US Air Force as a sole provider, enhancing Serco's position in defense training markets.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Serco competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Capita plc: UK-listed provider of professional, technology and outsourcing services to government. Closest pure-play UK B2G services peer with overlapping defence, citizen services and digital transformation mandates.
- SAIC: US federal IT and engineering services prime. Overlaps Serco Americas in defence, space, and mission IT; Michael LaRouche joined Serco from SAIC's National Security & Space Sector presidency.
- Babcock International: UK-listed defence and nuclear support services company. Competes with Serco in defence training, marine support and government engineering services across UK, Europe and Australasia.
- Maximus Inc. US provider of health, citizen and workforce services to government. Comparable in health FM, employment services and citizen contact centres across multiple jurisdictions.
- G4S / Allied Universal: Global security, facilities management and government-outsourcing peer. Overlaps Serco directly in justice, immigration detention and government services; Fiona Walters joined Serco from G4S UK&Ireland CEO role.
- KBR, Inc. US-listed government solutions and sustainable technology provider. Direct competitor in defence training/simulation, mission support and government professional services globally.
- CACI International: US government services and IT contractor. Direct peer in defence, intelligence and federal civilian mission support with similar enterprise-field-sales motion to government.
- Leidos Holdings: US defence, intelligence and civil government services contractor. Competes with Serco in Navy communications (ADNS), training systems and government IT integration.
Broad incumbents
- Thales Group: Global defence, aerospace and digital identity systems prime. Overlaps Serco in defence training/simulation and secure communications as part of a much broader hardware-led portfolio.
- Sodexo (Government segment): Global food and facilities-management services major with significant government/defence segment. Competes with Serco on FM contracts (e.g., hospitals, defence bases) but operates much broader commercial base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Serco social profiles
Digital presenceSerco compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Serco financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Serco leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles17 records
Serco subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
Serco funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Serco M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A18 records
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Serco
What does Serco do?
Serco is an international provider of critical government services delivering integrated solutions across defense, justice & immigration, transport, health & facilities management, and citizen services. The company contracts directly with government agencies to operate large-scale public services including military training, immigration processing, correctional facilities, healthcare facilities management, and transport systems, leveraging service design, programme management, systems integration, and engineering capabilities.
Is Serco a public or private company?
Serco is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Serco founded?
Serco was founded in 1987. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Serco based?
Serco is headquartered in Reston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Serco make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Defence Services are the primary driver. The others are justice & Immigration Services, health & Facilities Management, transport Services and citizen Services.
Who are Serco's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Capita plc, SAIC, Babcock International, Maximus Inc., G4S / Allied Universal, KBR, Inc., CACI International and Leidos Holdings. Broad incumbents are Thales Group and Sodexo (Government segment).
Does Serco have an API?
No public API is recorded for Serco.
What industry is Serco in?
Serco's product category is Government Services Outsourcing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAIALAF, Maritime & Port Authorities (Public Ports, Harbors, Ferries Terminals), with a secondary code of TLAHANAL, Regulatory & Sanctions Compliance Screening for Maritime Operations (Trade Controls, AML). Its NAICS code is 9281 and its SIC code is 9721.