Royal Mail have agreed to acquire eCourier, a same day delivery company operating mainly in the Greater London area and offering nationwide distribution. The combination of eCourier and Royal Mail Sameday, Royal Mail’s existing courier business, will, Royal Mai say, create a significant player in the national same day delivery market.
The acquisition of eCourier supports Royal Mail’s strategic objective to enhance its parcel offering, expand its network and capture more value in the fastest growing segments of the UK parcels market. Royal Mail is the incumbent player in other key parcels segments like business-to-business and business-to-consumer but needs to maintain their position against every increasing competition.
Same day delivery is a premium segment of the parcels market, with an estimated value of over £500 million, and growing rapidly at around 4-5% per year. While it is principally a B2B market, the currently modest B2C segment is expanding rapidly, driven by the e-commerce trends and the increasing consumer demand for faster fulfilment.
Royal Mail provides a nationwide same day service through its Royal Mail Sameday courier services and partner companies, with a limited footprint in London. eCourier generated revenue of approximately £19 million in 2014-15. eCourier’s main shareholder and CEO, Ian Oliver, will remain in role.
Moya Greene, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Mail, said: “Today’s announcement marks another milestone in our strategic objective of increasing our presence in growth areas of the parcels market. Same day deliveries are already one of the fastest growing segments of the UK parcels market.”
