Express parcel carrier DX Group has taken over Nightfreight for an undisclosed sum. DX has funded the deal using its own cash resources.
DX chief executive Petar Cvetkovic said: “The combination creates a clear market-leader with scale and a more diversified customer offer. We are now capable of delivering everything from a letter to a complete bedroom suite with king size bed – including the assembly and installation – through our 2-Man “white glove” premium delivery service.
[asset_ref id=”1502″] Petar Cvetkovic
The DX and Nightfreight businesses will continue to run as separate entities, but with a co-ordinated approach to sales and marketing activity. This will be underpinned by a standard group wide IT platform enabling DX to grow its customer base.
Combined revenue for the two businesses will be approximately £300m a year. DX says it is planning to invest up to £20m in Nightfreight over the next few years.
Cvetkovic, and DX chief financial officer, Ian Pain, have been appointed to the board of Nightfreight. They are joined by Stuart Godman, with whom Cvetkovic previously worked at Target Express and City Link, who becomes Nightfreight’s chief operating officer. Peter Louden, a current Nightfreight director, will be continuing on the board as operations director.
Ian Smith, Nightfreight’s chief executive, will join the DX management team as the DX strategy director.
For the year to 30 June 2011 the DX group reported operating profit (EBITDA) of £38.8m on sales of £164m. DX specialises in time sensitive, mission critical and high value deliveries and handles more than a million letters, packets and parcels a day. In January, it opened a new sorting centre at Warrington capable of handling 4,000 parcels an hour.
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Nightfreight has a particular niche in the irregular dimension and weight sector for both the business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. Services include single larger parcel express and non-standard freight, two-man shared user home delivery nationwide (deliver2home), a specialist warehousing, handling and installation ‘white glove’ service (pacemaker) and dedicated logistics.