TCS Clarifies Marks & Spencer Contract Situation: Addressing Misconceptions About $1 Billion Deal and Cyberattack Claims

Tata Consultancy Services has firmly rejected a UK media report claiming that Marks & Spencer terminated a $1 billion contract with the Indian IT company following alleged cyberattack failures.

The IT services giant labeled the report as "misleading" and "factually inaccurate" in an official statement.

In its clarification to stock exchanges, TCS specifically addressed an article titled "M&S ousts Indian outsourcer accused of £300m cyberattack failures," pointing out several inaccuracies, including incorrect information about the contract size and its purported connection to a cyber incident.

"The report published is misleading, with factual inaccuracies including the size of the contract and the continuity of TCS' work for Marks & Spencer (M&S)," the technology company stated.

TCS further explained that the M&S service desk contract mentioned in the report had undergone a standard competitive tender process that commenced in January 2025.

According to TCS, M&S had made the decision to collaborate with other partners "much prior to the cyber incident in April 2025," emphasizing that these two matters were "clearly unrelated."

The IT firm also highlighted that the service desk contract represented only a small fraction of its comprehensive partnership with the British retailer.

"TCS continues to work on numerous other areas in its role as a strategic partner for M&S and is proud of this longstanding partnership," the company affirmed.

Addressing the cyberattack allegations, TCS clarified that it had conducted a thorough scan of its systems and discovered no vulnerabilities originating from its side.

The company also noted that it does not provide cybersecurity services to M&S, as these are managed by a different vendor.

This clarification was issued after reports emerged suggesting that M&S had decided not to renew its $1 billion technology helpdesk agreement with TCS following a cyberattack that reportedly caused the retailer losses of approximately GBP 300 million.

Both TCS and M&S have subsequently confirmed that the contract decision was made prior to the cyber incident and was part of a regular renewal process.