Fashion chain Next has sold its third party customer service business Ventura to support services company Capita for £65m.

Ventura, which operates independently from the retailer, has been a part of Next since its inception in 1977.

In the year to January 2011 the customer service business reported turnover of £156m and an operating profit of £8m. Next will continue to use Ventura for its own customer services.

Next will use the proceeds from the sale to buy back shares. The retailer had outlined the potential for £160m of share buybacks in its current year beginning January 30, but now anticpates the figure could be as high as £225m.

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