TSC, the Scottish-owned contact centre company, has merged with an Indian call centre group in a £40m deal that will safeguard jobs and see the TSC management team lead the new company onto the global stage.

TSC, the Scottish-owned contact centre company, has merged with an Indian call centre group in a £40m deal that will safeguard jobs and see the TSC management team lead the new company onto the global stage.

The new partner is Hero Ites, part of the Hero Group, the $4.18bn Indian conglomerate controlled by the Munjal family, whose operations span steel, car components and bicycles, product design, information technology services, finance and insurance.

As well as taking over the running of the new company, to be known as TSC Hero, the TSC management team will retain investment in the business.

Ken Hills, TSC chief executive, said: "Let me make this clear. This is not about taking UK jobs to India. On the contrary, TSC's clients have all made positive decisions to locate their operations in the UK - whilst searching for additional services which compliment existing arrangements.

"Now we will be able to offer a greater offshore capability which will actually be part of the company and managed by the TSC team."

The merger will, however, see the departure of LDC, the mid-market private equity arm of Lloyds TSB Group which backed the business in 2003 with a significant equity investment.

LDC's involvement saw TSC increase its workforce from 2000 to 3000, the majority in Scotland and also in Yorkshire's Dearne Valley. Turnover was also boosted, from £29m to £60m.

Today, TSC, which was founded in Bute in 1994, has among its clients Vodafone, T-Mobile, Hewlett-Packard, HBOS and HSBC.

David Ewing, TSC chief operating officer, said: "This is a great example of a private equity backed business creating significant numbers of jobs in the UK.

"However, the new arrangements bring even more financial muscle and will allow TSC Hero to compete on a global basis.

"It gives us access to facilities and capital that will let us turn a successful Scottish business into a global one.

"The new company will provide the support for TSC Hero to win new business at home, and internationally. This will ensure the future of the business, strengthen job security and create further opportunities based on these international capabilities."

The giant Hero Group's existing contact centre operation is based in Gurgaon, near Delhi, and will take the new organisation to more than 3500 seats providing services to the US, Australia and the UK.

The deal represents the latest of five exits made by LDC so far this year, which have included the £160m sale of Jamella Group, trading under the ghd brand of hairstyling products, to Montagu Private Equity, and the £410m sale of property services company Apollo Group to Bank of Scotland Corporate.

LDC has made a total of 11 investments so far in 2007, including the £100m management buy-out of British Salt from US Salt Holdings, and the £40m management buy-out of Direct Group, a provider of business process outsourcing services to the insurance sector.