The parent of the company which audits the Beef and Lamb Quality Assurance and the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS) on behalf of Bord Bia has run into financial trouble in the UK. It also delivers the calf registration service for the Department of Agriculture.

UK outsourcing giant Capita warned its 2018 profits would be much lower than market expectations. Chief executive John Lewis, who took over the top job in December, said he had arrived at a business that had a “number of weaknesses”, including being “far too complex” and putting “too great an emphasis on short-term performance”. He also said it had “underinvested in infrastructure and over-relied on acquisitions for growth”.

The announcement caused a major sell-off and caused the shares to dip to levels not seen in 20 years. The shares have lost three quarters of their value over the last eight months and are down 50% since the start of February. Almost €1bn has been wiped off Capita’s market value.

In order to shore up its balance sheet, Capita announced a £700m rights issue and suspended its dividend.

The collapse of rival outsourcing group Carillion has forced the UK government to step in and arrange for the continuation of key services, including the basic provision of school meals and hospital cleaning.

While it is still early days, it does raise the question about whether key public services that are critical to traceability within the agricultural food chain should be outsourced to the private sector.

Capita bought South Western in a €35m deal from Ion Equity in 2014. South Western was originally part of the SWS co-operative group.

Its clients include the Department of Agriculture Food and Marine, Bord Gáis, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Bord Bia and Failte Ireland.

The company employs more than 700 people across its sites in Clonakilty, Bandon and Little Island in Cork.