Yodel sold | New owners to buy Tuffnells creating logistics powerhouse

The UK delivery firm Yodel has been bought for an undisclosed sum by YDLGP, a new company backed by a group of investors.

They include Solano Partners as well as the leadership team behind Shift, a UK-based logistics technology platform, including its founder Jacob Corlett.

Discussions have been ongoing with Yodel since the middle of last year.

Shift, a tech logistics scale-up, acquired and relaunched Tuffnells in June 2023, after the business entered administration. 

The newly formed YDLGP has also agreed terms to acquire the entire issued share capital of Shift.

On completion of the deal, 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.

YDLGP says that Shift’s artificial intelligence (AI) driven technology platform will then be deployed to bring automation and efficiency to both businesses.

The Shift leadership team will provide significant technology and operational expertise, it added, having successfully turned around the fortunes of the Tuffnells brand.

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

Jacob Corlett, CEO of Shift, 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 (Hancox) and the Yodel team, and with the support of YDLGP, continuing our journey building and scaling logistics through technology.”

Reports first emerged last week of Yodel being in discussions with interested parties with administrators put on standby. 

The new owners, however, stressed the delivery firm is in a strong and healthy position, with significant scale; a wide-ranging and growing client base including Very.com, Wren Kitchens, Gousto, Vinted, Whistl and Argos, and has won winning new clients, including Boden and Zalando.

It makes 190-plus million deliveries annually from its 50 sites and generated £561.8 million revenue in the past financial year,

Mike Hancox, CEO 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, believes that there is a “fantastic opportunity” to harness the strong brand and scale of Yodel in the UK and take further market share with the support of fresh capital and the technology provided by the Shift team.

“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,” he said.