Advent International to sell Evri, a leading UK parcel delivery company, to Apollo Funds

London, 25 July 2024 – Advent International (“Advent”), one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, today announces that it has agreed to sell Evri, a leading UK parcel delivery company, to funds managed by affiliates of Apollo. Closing of the transaction is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2024.  

Since it acquired Evri in 2020, Advent has invested nearly £200 million to create one of the largest and fastest growing UK parcel delivery companies, which delivers over 12 million parcels a week to UK e-commerce shoppers. This investment involved a significant upgrade in technology and £60 million on a new automated distribution hub in Barnsley, the largest of its kind in Europe. Overall, it has delivered a transformed proposition for Evri’s clients, customers, couriers and partners. 

Notable achievements for the business under Advent’s ownership include:

• The company has tripled in size over the last five years. Last year, Evri delivered 730 million parcels, with more than 99% delivered on time, and served over 12 million customers per week across the UK.
• There has in particular been a significant improvement in Evri’s SME offer, which has become one of the company’s strongest growth segments – with the business having significantly strengthened relationships with leading e-tailers and marketplaces.
• Evri has also accelerated its ESG strategy – having built one of the UK’s largest environmentally-friendly ‘out-of-home’ networks and added to its low-carbon emission fleet as part of its 2035 net zero target.
• Signing a landmark agreement with the GMB providing paid holiday and guaranteed minimum payment rates and ensuring that all couriers are auto-enrolled into a pension and have rights to maternity and paternity leave.

Ranjan Sen, Managing Partner at Advent International, said, “Since we acquired Evri in 2020, we have invested nearly £200 million in transforming the business and further building out its digital capabilities. Evri is now one of the leading parcel delivery companies in the UK with strong momentum for the future.”

James Smith, Director at Advent International, said, “We have worked closely with the team at Evri to significantly improve conditions and benefits for its people, as well as its customer offer, operational performance and its path to net zero. The business has grown significantly, having tripled its size over the last five years. Evri is well placed to deliver strong future growth and we wish all of the team there well as they embark on their next phase of development.”

Martijn de Lange, CEO of Evri, said, “The last five years have seen transformative change in our proposition which has allowed us to take full advantage of the positive trends in our markets.  With the support of Advent, the business today is in a strong position and momentum is encouraging.  We are very excited to be partnering with Apollo and optimistic for what the future holds.”

Kay Schiebur, Member of the Executive Board, Otto Group, said, “We would like to thank Advent for the excellent cooperation and are pleased that Evri’s strong foundation created under our joint stewardship sets the basis for a successful future.”

As part of the transaction, Otto Group will also divest its remaining minority stake in the business.