Leading South West law firm Stephens Scown LLP has advised on a major national deal in the postal sector, which has seen The Delivery Group acquire 100% of the share capital of ONEPOST (Postal Choices Ltd).

 

The enlarged group, bringing together the two market leaders in the mail and e commerce sectors, will have a combined annual turnover of £250m, employ 500 staff across seven locations and manage almost a billion items of mail and packages per annum, both in the UK and internationally.

 

Stephens Scown, which has offices in Exeter, Truro and St Austell, were lead advisors to The Delivery Group. A large team of experts from the firm’s corporate, employment, property and intellectual property teams were led by James Keliher, partner in the corporate team. He said: “I’ve advised Steve Stokes, the CEO of The Delivery Group, on several deals, including a management buy out last year. It has been great to see The Delivery Group develop into the major force in the sector that it is now.”

 

Commenting on the transaction, The Delivery Group CEO Steve Stokes said: “We are delighted to conclude the acquisition of ONEPOST and look forward to working with their team to unlock the synergy benefits that exist and to further develop our portfolio of services to all our customers. We welcome the ONEPOST employees in Portishead and Derby to The Delivery Group family and would like to stress that its very much business as usual for stakeholders and service providers.”

 

Graham Cooper, the co-founder of ONEPOST commented: “The Delivery Group clearly identified the quality of our service, our staff and complementary focus on direct and marketing mail, and we in turn have been impressed with their commitment to people, partnerships and service performance. Their automation and transport technology is second to none, and will bring significant benefits to our customers with improved tracking, delivery accuracy and give us access to a wider range of services.”

 

Bishop Fleming also advised The Delivery Group on deal structure, working capital and tax issues.

 

Shareholders of ONEPOST were advised by BDO Corporate Finance and Cook Corporate Ltd.