INSIGHTS - APRIL 2024

UK Post and Courier Industry

UK Post and Courier Industry Information

The postal and courier industry includes activities such as pickup, transport and delivery of letters and parcels, home delivery services, messenger services, sorting and processing facilities.

Active Businesses

9,913

Annual Sales

£16bn +

Employees

178,896

Economic Contribution 

£8bn

Tags

Location of Post and Courier Companies

Post and Courier Companies by Size

88% Micro

10% Small

1% Mid

0% Large

0% Mega

Largest Post and Courier Companies
Turnover
Post and Courier Companies by Age

39% Young

38% Startup

18% Established

5% Mature

0% New

Fastest Growing Post and Courier Companies

45% Declining

21% Rapid

16% Healthy

11% High

7% Low

Post and Courier Industry Competitive Environment - New Entrants vs Leavers

Post and Courier Industry Valuation

EBITDA Multiple

Post and Courier Industry Valuation

Turnover Multiple

Post and Courier Industry Valuation

Net Asset Multiple

Note - from March 2020 multiples are calculated monthly, prior to this they were calculated on an annual basis.
UK Postal and courier activities Industry Insights

There are 9,913 active Businesses in the UK with combined annual sales of £16 billion .

The Industry employs around 178,895 people and contributes £8 billion to the economy.

The most popular location for Post and Courier companies is London with 2,248 and the fewest are located in Northern Ireland with 63.

The largest Post and Courier company is Royal Mail Group Limited with a turnover of £7.4bn. 88% of the industry is comprised of Micro companies with only 1% Mid companies.

5% of the Post and Courier Industry is made up of 5% Mature but the majority are Young businesses (39%) the oldest company is Holt & Haskell Limited founded in 1946.

Post and Courier industry has a number of high growth companies (11%), the fastest growing company is Tero Trans Ltd with a 3 year growth rate of 61%. Other fast growing companies include Asendia Uk Limited (37%), Arrowhead Couriers Ltd (37%) and Whistl Consolidated Limited (31%).

The UK Post and Courier Industry’s valuation has been improving over the past 3 years with a current EBITDA multiple of 6.64x, Turnover multiple of 0.83x and a Net Asset multiple of 3.39x.