The deal was completed on Monday (25 March), but had been in discussion since August last year when Delivery Group was approached by representatives of Onepost, which had been courting buyers for a while. Warrington-headquartered Delivery took up the offer having just staged an MBO from private equity firm Next Wave Partners in July.
Onepost, which operates out of Portishead and Derby, will bring planned, campaign-driven work into the Delivery Group, which has long specialised in regular, daily collections.
Delivery Group chair Paul Carvell said: “A deal of this size takes a lot of due diligence and both businesses had a busy Christmas period, so it took us a while to get everything locked in. But we were drawn to Onepost because their IT, software and expertise is unparalleled.
“We were impressed by the people there, who are very skilled and talented. We believed they could have fabulous careers within the group. Onepost also boasts an excellent customer base which is longstanding, they do not seem to lose many clients.
“As a group, our mission going forward will be about finding the right service for the customer, from hand delivery up to international distribution. We now have a massive range of services under one roof, so to speak, making us an attractive proposition.”
Across seven bases, the new, enlarged Delivery Group now employs 500 total staff and runs a range of technology for sortation, including two large Böwe systems, one each at Onepost’s Derby base and Delivery Group’s Maidstone facility.
Delivery Group also runs some hybrid printing services out of its premises in London, though it largely turns to the print sector to provide its printed materials.
Going forward, Onepost will for now maintain its own brand identity, though Carvell expressed a desire to “make clear it is part of our wider family” at Delivery Group.
With a combination of new product and service launches, as well as further acquisitions, Carvell hopes to see the group’s turnover double to £500m in the next three years.
Currently, the full Delivery Group turns over £250m, with Onepost’s £100m sales adding to the original company’s £150m.
