DPD UK has announced that it has completed the acquisition of longstanding final mile courier company Absolutely, to further strengthen its same day delivery capabilities across the UK.

Absolutely operates across the South East, with a fleet of circa 200 couriers servicing more than 2,500 clients. These range from fashion brands and health organisations to law firms and media businesses. Its fleet includes an expanding number of zero-emission vehicles, such as cargo bikes and pushbikes, alongside vans and motorbikes. Its offer also includes temperature controlled courier services.

This move follows DPD UK’s acquisition of CitySprint, the UK’s premier same day delivery company, in 2022 and further enables DPD UK to capitalise on this rapidly growing segment of the delivery market.

As well as accessing CitySprint’s UK wide same day network – which offers a geographical reach to over 88% of the mainland population within 60 minutes[1] – the acquisition means Absolutely customers will be able to leverage DPD UK’s domestic next day and international expertise.

Elaine Kerr, CEO of DPD UK, commented:

“We’re delighted to welcome the Absolutely team to our UK business. Same day delivery is one of the fastest growing segments of the logistics market and this move allows us to further strengthen and expand our offer in this area, following the acquisition of CitySprint last year. Looking ahead, DPD UK is strongly positioned to meet this rising demand and consolidate our place as a market leader in same day delivery.”

Stuart Godman, CEO of Absolutely, commented:

“We are very excited to become part of the DPD UK family. With a long history in the industry, we know that same day delivery is essential for keeping businesses of all sizes moving. This move is great news for our existing customers, and we look forward to offering them access to DPD’s broader range of services in due course. But for now, it’s very much business as usual.”

DPD specialises in UK domestic next-day and international deliveries. It operates nationwide, seven days a week from 84 locations and delivers over 400 million parcels a year for online retail specialists and many of the biggest names on the high street.

DPD is also a leader on sustainable delivery. In 2018, DPD opened the UK’s first all-electric parcel delivery depot in Westminster. DPD currently has 3,000 EVs on the road in the UK and has announced plans to deliver to 30 of the largest towns and cities in the UK with zero and low-emission delivery means by the end of 2023.  In July 2021, Oxford became DPD’s first all-electric city in the UK.

About DPD UK

DPD UK was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2015 in the Innovation category, for its unique one-hour delivery service, Predict. 

In 2018, DPD opened the UK’s first all-electric parcel delivery depot in Westminster. DPD currently has 3,000 EVs on the road in the UK and has announced plans to deliver to 30 of the largest towns and cities in the UK with zero and low-emission delivery means by the end of 2023.  In July 2021, Oxford became DPD’s first all-electric city in the UK. Details of all of DPD’s sustainability initiatives can be found on its dedicated green website: https://green.dpd.co.uk/

DPD UK is a member of DPDgroup, the largest parcel delivery network in Europe. DPDgroup is the parcel delivery network of GeoPost, a holding company owned by France’s La Poste.

The company operates more than 10,000 vehicles from 84 locations and delivers over 400 million parcels a year.

About Absolutely

Founded in 1865 by the Thompson family, Absolutely is a market leading, independent final mile partner providing Sameday, Overnight, International and Temperature Controlled delivery services to B2B customers.

The company operates across four sites with one of the largest e-Cargo Bikes fleets in the UK providing carbon neutral final mile solutions.

In 2021, Absolutely was awarded the Clean Air Award, by the Institute of Couriers, for its approach to ESG and zero emission deliveries.

[1] Source: Crimson & Co.