Yodel has been acquired by a consortium of investors, including the leadership team behind logistics platform Shift and investment bank Solano Partners.
Yodel operates from 50 sites and in the year to 31 December 2023 generated £561.8m of revenue, but had reportedly been on the brink of collapse ahead of the deal.
The YDLGP consortium has also agreed terms to acquire the entire issued share capital of Shift, the tech logistics scale up that acquired and relaunched Tuffnells in June 2023.
Upon completion, the enlarged group will serve both the parcels market through the Yodel business, and larger, irregular dimensions and weights freight through the Tuffnells brand.
Mike Hancox, chief executive of Yodel, said: “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.”
Jon Edirmanasinghe, founding partner of Solano, added: “We’ve seen the Shift team successfully acquire and relaunch the Tuffnells business and believe that forming the enlarged group to house all three creates a disruptive logistics powerhouse.”
Jacob Corlett, chief executive of Shift, said: “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.”
For more Yodel news, visit https://www.yodel.co.uk/news