Nationwide parcel delivery firm Yodel – based in Liverpool – is saved from collapse by a last-minute rescue deal, safeguarding thousands of jobs. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool-based UK parcel delivery firm Yodel has been saved from collapse in a last-minute rescue deal.

Sky News reported on Tuesday morning that the business, owned by the Barclay family, had been close to calling in administrators with the Barclays searching for a buyer. The Barclays also control Liverpool online retail giant Very Group.

Now Speke-based Yodel has been acquired by Jacob Corlett, founder of international parcel delivery group Shift, and merchant bank Solano Partners. They have formed a new company called YDLGP. The move will safeguard thousands of jobs.

In a statement issued to Sky, Mike Hancox, Yodel CEO, 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.”

Yodel’s annual revenues total more than £560m and it delivers more than 190m parcels a year for customers including Argos, Vinted and Very Group. Operating from 50 sites, its headquarters are in Speke in south Liverpool.

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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.”