Deutsche Post DHL is set to complete the purchase of UK Mail, the parcel and mail operator, for £242.7 million.
The move will mean a return to the UK domestic parcels business for DHL which sold its previous business to Home Delivery Network six years ago. That business now trades as Yodel.
Board member of Deutsche Post DHL, Jürgen Gerdes, commented: “The on-going expansion of our parcel network in Europe is driven by increasing demand within our e-commerce customer base for cross-border deliveries. Deutsche Post DHL, as the leader in the German parcel market, has already established a strong position in a number of European countries.
UKMAIL said: “UK Mail is a well-run business and an established provider of quality delivery services in the UK and offers a complementary fit with our integrated offering. With this acquisition, we will further extend our network and have a strong foothold in Europe’s three largest e-commerce markets, the United Kingdom, Germany and France, which account for over 60 per cent. of online retail in the continent.”
For the year ending March 31 2016, UK Mail posted a profit before tax and exceptional items of £10.7 million (2015: £21.0 million) on revenue of £481.0 million (2015: £485.1 million).
The business moved to a new automated sorting centre at Ryton near Coventry in 2015, because its former site in Birmingham was on the route of the new HS2 rail line. Problems in getting the new site up and running resulted in the departure of long-serving CEO Guy Buswell in November last year.
The purchase by Deutsche Post DHL gives shareholders in UK Mail the chances to realise their investment.
Chairman Peter Kane said: “The Board believes that UK Mail will benefit significantly from becoming part of Deutsche Post DHL, and will be better positioned to continue to develop our parcels and mail businesses with the benefit of Deutsche Post DHL’s greater financial and operational resources.”
