Delivery business Yodel rescued by consortium led by rival Shift

Parcel delivery business Yodel said Tuesday it has been acquired by YDLGP Limited, a newly formed company, for an undisclosed amount.

YDLGP is backed by a consortium of investors including Solano Partners Ltd, an independent boutique investment bank, as well as the leadership team behind Shift, the rapidly growing UK-based logistics platform, including its founder, Jacob Corlett.

The Barclay family, which owned Yodel, has been looking to find a buyer for the struggling business to avoid administration.

One of Britain’s biggest parcel delivery groups, with a wide-ranging and growing client base across diverse retail sectors, Yodel makes over 190 million deliveries annually from its 50 sites.

For the year ended 31 December 2023, Yodel generated £561.8 million revenue.

“We’re extremely excited to begin the next chapter of Yodel’s journey, leveraging the scale of our business with the support of new shareholders and the future benefits of the Shift technology platform. Our customers have always been our priority and the transaction announced today allows us to ensure continuity for them, as well as our employees and wider stakeholders,” Mike Hancox, Yodel chief executive, said.

Yodel also announces that its new owner, YDLGP, has agreed terms to acquire the entire issued share capital of Shift, the tech logistics scale up that acquired and relaunched parcel delivery firm Tuffnells in June last year.

Upon completion, the enlarged group will form a ‘super scale’ logistics platform serving both the parcels market through the Yodel business, and larger, irregular dimensions and weights freight through the Tuffnells brand.

Shift’s AI driven technology platform would become the platform that brings automation and efficiency to both businesses, with the Shift leadership team providing significant technology and operational expertise.

Furthermore, the deal and the access to capital it facilitates safeguards thousands of UK jobs, providing surety for drivers, suppliers and customers alike.

Jacob Corlett, Shift chief executive, said: “I am incredibly proud of what we have built at Shift in the last few years, rapidly scaling our tech-logistics platform, and M&A has been a big part of that success. At the heart of this merger is Shift’s revolutionary AI-driven technology platform, promising a future where efficiency and automation become the backbone of logistics operations.

“I look forward to working with Mike and the Yodel team, and with the support of YDLGP, continuing our journey building and scaling logistics through technology.”

Yodel has a partnership with PayPoint’s Collect+ network, the leading out of home parcel pick up, drop off and send service.