Xansa has beaten off competition from Capita, Infosys, BPO and EDS to clinch preferred supplier status with the BBC in a £85m deal.

Xansa will deliver finance and accounting services across the BBC, including purchasing and sales transaction processing, artist and contributor payments, financial management and project accounting, payroll processing and expenses.

The outsourcing group will provide services from the UK and India. Voice contact will remain in the UK, with other services carried out at Xansa’s shared service centre in Chennai, India.

The deal follows months of speculation over what route the BBC would take to cut costs and direct more funds to its creative department. It is hoped that the deal with Xansa will save the broadcaster £200m, or 1.5 million license fees, over the 10 years of the contract.

Zarin Patel, BBC group finance director, said the deal was an excellent one for the organisation

'By moving our transaction processing to India we are demonstrating that we are prepared to take bold and imaginative decisions that offer the licence-fee payer great value for money, while still maintaining the highest quality of service delivery,' Patel said.

Alistair Cox, Xansa’s chief executive, said he was delighted to have won the contract to outsorce the BBC's finance and accounting function.

Further reading:

BBC to cut finance department by two-thirds

Xansa chief warns off newcomers to Indian market

Profile: Gordon Hurst, FD of outsourcing company Capita