The deal was announced yesterday afternoon (14 May).

The enlarged business will deliver at least 1bn parcels and 1bn business letters a year. Royal Mail still handles the ‘final mile’ for letters.

DHL eCommerce UK will be rebranded as Evri Premium – a network of DHL eCommerce. It will continue as a separate, secure network focused on high-value and large items.

DHL’s UK Mail operation will become part of the combined group, and Germany-headquartered DHL Group will acquire “a significant minority stake” in Evri as part of the deal. 

Evri CEO Martijn de Lange said the merger would bring together “two highly complementary businesses”.

“By combining Evri’s scale, innovation and DHL eCommerce’s best-in-class premium van network, we are creating the pre-eminent parcel delivery group in the UK,” he said.

“Over the last decade Evri has grown ten-fold in size and this transaction will further expand our access into the European and global e-commerce markets.”

De Lange said that Apollo Global Management, which acquired Evri last year in a £2.7bn deal, had backed the firm’s growth plans and ambitions to become the UK’s premier parcel delivery business.

Evri posted sales up 15.2% at £1.68bn in its most recent results, for the 53 weeks to 2 March 2024, and increased EBITDA margins, which rose from 14.9% to 17.3%.

DHL declined to disclose separate figures for the UK business being acquired, but filings at Companies House for DHL eCommerce UK Limited show sales up 6.9% to £616m in the year to 31 December 2023, with a pre-tax loss of £11.8m. Mail revenue was up by just under 15% at £177m, although operating margins slipped from 4.8% to 3.9% due to higher operating costs and Royal Mail price increases.

Evri said the letters service would also offer e-commerce customers additional options for sending lighter-weight items.

The combined out-of-home shop and locker network will be the biggest in the UK, with nearly 150,000 access points.

Capability for inbound and outbound international parcels will also be expanded.

The deal is subject to regulatory and customary approvals.

When completed, de Lange will lead the combined business in the UK, which will have 12,000 employees, more than 30,000 couriers and van drivers and a fleet of more than 8,000 vehicles.

Stu Hill, currently CEO of DHL eCommerce UK will become managing director of the Evri Premium DHL network business.

The DHL eCommerce UK executive team will also join the expanded group.

The overall DHL Group had sales of around €84.2bn (£71bn) last year. Its other businesses in the UK – DHL Express, DHL Supply Chain and DHL Global Forwarding – are unaffected and continue to operate as normal.

DHL sold its UK Mail Digital printing and communications business to an MBO team in 2021 following a strategic review.