Derby delivery firm sold to create £250m company

The Delivery Group has bought ONEPOST, which has a major depot in Derby, for an undisclosed sum, bringing together two market leaders in the mail and ecommerce sectors.

The enlarged group will have a combined annual turnover of £250m, employ 500 staff across seven locations, and manage almost a billion items of mail and packages both in the UK and internationally.

Steve Stokes, chief executive of Warrington-based The Delivery Group, said: “We are delighted to conclude the acquisition of ONEPOST and look forward to working with their team to unlock the synergy benefits that exist and to further develop our portfolio of services to all our customers.

“We welcome the ONEPOST employees in Portishead and Derby to The Delivery Group family and would like to stress that it’s very much business as usual for stakeholders and service providers.”

Graham Cooper, co-founder of ONEPOST, said: “The Delivery Group clearly identified the quality of our service, our staff and complementary focus on direct and marketing mail, and we, in turn, have been impressed with their commitment to people, partnerships and service performance.

“Their automation and transport technology is second-to-none, and will bring significant benefits to our customers with improved tracking, delivery accuracy and give us access to a wider range of services.”

The Delivery Group chairman, Paul Carvell, added: “Since the management buy-out from Next Wave Partners last year, we have actively pursued our strategy to expand our service range and geographical footprint, and ONEPOST fits perfectly into our plans.

“We will be announcing further developments over the coming months as we strive to become the premier systems-driven ‘one-stop provider’ in the post, package and parcel distribution sector.”

The Delivery Group were advised by Stephens Scown, and the shareholders of ONEPOST by BDO Corporate Finance and Cook Corporate.