Emea businesses spent a massive E12.4bn on outsourcing over the past three months, with the sector recording a 135% quarter-on-quarter increase.

The total value was also 61% higher than the same period a year ago, according to research by TPI for the fourth quarter of 2009.

The research, which records all contracts signed with a value of over E20m, showed that the Emea region grew mush faster than the US.

The total value of contracts in the fourth quarter was almost the same as the second quarter of 2008, which is when the outsourcing market started to slow down.

But the late surge was not enough to take the full-year results above the previous year. Total Emea contract value was E29.3bn in 2009, representing a 21% drop compared with 2008.

“The fourth quarter showed clear signs of recovery, but as expected, the recession took a toll on full-year results,” said Duncan Aitchison, president, Emea at TPI.

“The market bottomed in the first half of 2009, but managed to turn in the second half of the year,” he said. “While we do not expect a bounce back to pre-recession levels, we are maintaining a positive outlook for 2010 as the market starts to show momentum in key industry verticals and signs of steady recovery in the broader market.”