Amazon Forges Agreement To Buy A Stake In UK’s Second Biggest Delivery Firm

Amazon has established close ties with delivery firm Yodel with an option to buy a tranche of its shares.

The global e-commerce giant has forged an agreement that means it could buy 4.2 per cent of Yodel’s shares with a paper value of £8.7 million.

The agreement was revealed in the latest set of Companies House accounts filed by Yodel, which is owned by the Barclay Brothers, and reported by the Guardian newspaper.

It is not clear whether the intention would be for Amazon to invest in the loss making Yodel or whether it could be a precursor to an acquisition.

Amazon has sought to forge closer links with its supply chain in recent years by opening more regional warehouses and even announced that it is working on a system of airborne delivery drones for the future.

The value of Yodel was put at £207 million even though it made a loss. It ships more than 135 million parcels a year making it the second biggest delivery firm in the UK after the Royal Mail.