Business Post Group acquisition of technical courier
Business Post Group PLC
03 March 2003
BUSINESS POST GROUP PLC
Acquisition of technical courier
Business Post Group plc, one of the UK’s leading express delivery companies,
announces the acquisition of BXT Limited, a Birmingham-based technical courier
business, for a consideration of #1.8m net of cash acquired. In the financial
year ended 31 July 2002, BXT achieved turnover of #4.3m and pre-tax profits of
#0.3m.
The acquisition of BXT provides Business Post with an entry into the technical
courier market as a value-added addition to the Group’s own expanding courier
business, UK Today. BXT will be developed alongside the Group’s other business
units and will provide further cross-selling opportunities across the Group’s
enlarged customer base.
Commenting on the purchase, Business Post Chief Executive Paul Carvell said “18
months ago we embarked on a strategy which included possible acquisitions in
markets that complemented the Group’s services. BXT is a high quality business
providing solutions for some well known organisations in the IT, utilities and
medical sectors. We can now give the company the backing it needs to develop
further and we can introduce BXT’s services to our customers.”
Note for Editors
Business Post is estimated to be the UK’s joint fourth largest express delivery
company, with a market share that has risen progressively to 7% from a national
network of 64 depots, of which 43 are franchised. Business Post operates
primarily at the top end of the business-to-business market, focusing mainly on
overnight deliveries via its Express network, with a customer base which exceeds
18,000 business accounts.
In addition to Express, Business Post’s other businesses are UK HomeServe,
International, UK Today and UK Mail. UK HomeServe is the Group’s
business-to-consumer parcels business, and provides a high quality next day
service to residential addresses. International is responsible for all
shipments coming into and leaving the UK and Eire and, from September 2001,
entered into a contract with FedEx, the world’s largest express transportation
company, to be its UK Global Service Participant. UK Today is the Group’s
nationwide same-day courier service, and UK Mail is Business Post’s business
mail subsidiary.
BXT is a specialist courier company operating from Birmingham, Warrington and
Cambridge, employing 138 staff. The company utilises the skills of
highly-trained drivers to undertake a range of value added services for
customers, almost exclusively on a contractual basis. Examples of these
services include technical installation, assembly and testing work, water
sampling for certain water utilities, and medical courier work. BXT has ISO
9002 quality accreditation.
Enquiries:
Business Post Group plc
Paul Carvell (Chief Executive) 0121 335 1111
Peter Fitzwilliam (Finance Director) 01753 706070
Bankside Consultants Limited
Charles Ponsonby 020 7444 4166
