HMRC Vowed to Break Up With Capgemini, Then Paid It Another 4.2B Pounds

The UK tax authority said in the mid-2010s it would unwind its flagship outsourcing arrangement with French technology giant Capgemini. Procurement records published since then point the other way.

The Register worked with Otnox, which standardizes public procurement data from more than 80 countries, to analyze HMRC transactions above 25,000 pounds. The records show HMRC paid Capgemini at least 4.2 billion pounds across 15,726 transactions between 2014, when the Aspire contract was first meant to end, and July 2026. Sixteen months of data are missing, so the true total may be higher.

Aspire: the government's largest tech contract

Aspire began in 2004 as a ten-year deal with Capgemini as prime supplier and was later extended to June 2017. It became the government's biggest technology contract, costing around 10 billion pounds over 13 years, and accounted for about 84 percent of HMRC's technology spending between April 2006 and March 2014.

HMRC told MPs in 2015 that it would replace Aspire in phases rather than extend it, yet deals announced in 2015 and 2016 kept some services running past June 2017. Its Technology Sourcing Programme, launched in 2020, promised to open a 900 million pound annual IT budget to more suppliers, but Capgemini kept winning work, some of it without competition.

The contracts kept coming

In January 2022 the supplier signed a 51 million pound deal to support tax systems built under Aspire, and that March won up to 30 million pounds to integrate the customs platform plus 214 million pounds without competition. In May 2024 HMRC gave it up to 245.5 million pounds for legacy systems and a five-year agreement to run two core platforms until June 2029 worth between 403 and 574 million pounds. A contact center deal won in June 2026 is worth up to 600 million pounds; if it runs its full ten years the relationship reaches 2036, 32 years after Aspire began.

A test for procurement policy

HMRC told The Register the awards are fully compliant with procurement law and government policy. A spokesperson said the department moved "from a small number of large legacy contracts to a more diverse supplier base," which has increased competition, innovation and resilience. Andy Burnham, prime minister since July, said procurement would "back British industry," and the government now expects contractors to show they create high-quality British jobs.