Engineering firm Atkins has signed a £13.7m contract with Capgemini for IT infrastructure services and the running of its finance and HR systems.

The five-year deal extends Atkins' existing agreement with Capgemini, which covers some infrastructure support. The new deal also adds the running of finance, project management, human resources and payroll systems.

"Capgemini won the bidding on the quality of their work for us since 2001 and the excellent relationship they maintain with Atkins," said Linda Barker, IS head of finance and HR systems at Atkins.

"We especially value their commitment to total collaboration with our business, and to ongoing proactive innovation. We are delighted to be working with them for a further five years."

Capgemini has already helped Atkins move from locally-based IT facilities to integrated systems.

In future the focus of the work will be on improving cost-efficiency and customer service.