"This announcement further endorses our strategy of moving away from the provision of single service lines to embrace integrated corporate information solutions," said Williams Lea chief executive Tim Griffiths.

The 10-year contract is the largest outsourcing deal within the UK financial services sector, according to the firm. It covers statements, direct mail, marketing campaigns and policy and renewel documentation.

"This approach will allow us to continue to function effectively in the highly competitive environment in which we operate," said Norwich Union operations director Mark Hughes.

Norwich Union, part of the Aviva group, is the UK's largest insurer, covering one in five UK households. It will transfer its entire document services division, including its specialist print and fulfillment firm Printopost, to Williams Lea. This will affect 500 staff from 12 locations in the UK.

Under the terms of the partnership Williams Lea will begin a two-year multi-million pound investment programme to develop "centres of excellence" in Norwich, York and Perth. Griffiths said it was too early to comment on the exact size and detail of the investment.

The deal is the latest in a long line of announcements from the acquisitive firm. "We have been building our capability in transactional processing for some time - and our acquisition of Formation was a key building block in this initiative," said Griffiths.

The Norwich Union contract follows hot on the heels of the firm's purchase of US-based Bowne Business Solutions in a 100m ($180m) deal.

Williams Lea has a projected turnover of 450m and its clients include BMW, Microsoft and Prudential.

Story by Darryl Danielli