Yodel has been acquired by YDLGP, a newly formed company which is backed by a consortium of investors, for an undisclosed amount.

The consortium includes independent boutique investment bank, Solano Partners, which also advised on the acquisition, as well as the leadership team behind rival firm to Yodel, Shift, another firm set to be acquired by YDLGP.

According to the BBC, talks about the possibility of an acquisition by the consortium had been taking place since the middle of 2023.

Yodel makes over 190 million deliveries a year from 50 sites for firms including Argos, Vinted and Gousto, and generated £561.8m in revenue in 2023.

However, the firm, which was owned by the Barclay family, was reportedly close to collapse, with administrators expected to be appointed if a buyer was not found, putting around 10,000 jobs at risk.

Furthermore, Citizens Advice rated Yodel as the joint worst of the largest five UK courier firms last year, alongside Evri.

Chief executive officer at Yodel, Mike Hancox, 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."

CEO at Shift, Jacob Corlett, added: "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."

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