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(Alliance News) - Optima Health PLC on Thursday said it has won a seven year contract to deliver medical assessments for the UK Ministry of Defence worth GBP210 million.

The Sheffield, England-based software provider for the occupational health sector said it has been selected as the exclusive medical assessments provider as part of a consortium led by Serco Group PLC to provide recruitment services for the Royal Navy, the British Army, the Royal Air Force and Strategic Command.

The contract will see recruitment for the military brought together for the first time.

The component subcontracted to Optima Health has an estimated value of GBP210 million over the initial seven year terms, rising to GBP290 million if all three one-year extensions are used.

The firm said a 21-month mobilisation period will begin in April, with the new service starting in early 2027.

Optima will provide medical assessments for the programme which will cover candidate attraction, assessment, enlistment and initial training.

Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Thomas said: "Optima Health brings specialist medical expertise and extensive track record of delivering government services at scale and to a high quality. By partnering with Serco and Team Serco specialist delivery partners, we believe we have a compelling solution which will modernise and transform Armed Forces recruitment.

"The award of this contract is an exciting milestone aligned with our overall strategy of growing our industry leading medical solutions on a broader scale."

Optima Health shares were up 7.4% at 174.00 pence in London on Friday afternoon.

By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter

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