Serco to retain environmental, leisure businesses

(Adds further detail, background)

LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - British outsourcing firm Serco said on Tuesday it had decided to retain its environmental services and leisure businesses which it had previously stated it would dispose of.

Serco is making changes after a string of contract problems and scandals.

The company said following its disposal of its offshore call centre, it had reviewed its previous intention to dispose of the two businesses and had concluded that for strategic and financial reasons, it was in the best interests of the firm to retain them.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) said the two businesses had a combined annual revenue of around 140 million pounds ($212 million). It maintained its full-year revenue expectation of 3.5 billion pounds.

Last week, the company had warned revenue and trading profit would fall in 2016, due to the sale of its offshore call centre business and some lost contracts, which sent its shares down more than 10 percent.

In March, Serco tapped shareholders for cash and said it was unlikely to return to sales growth for another three years.

($1 = 0.6601 pounds) (Reporting by Li-mei Hoang; editing by Louise Heavens and Jason Neely)