Lynx Express (stylised as Lynx Express) was a

courier A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

(parcel delivery) company operating principally in the United Kingdom. It was acquired in July 2005 by UPS.

History

The company's history dates back to the nationalisation of the

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

ways after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Each of the pre-nationalisation companies had formed a local delivery network, based on lorries and vans, to extend the railway to customers' doors, thus enabling parcels and light freight to be delivered in the control of the railway company. In 1955, these services were amalgamated to form a division of

British Road Services The National Freight Corporation was a major British transport business between 1948 and 2000. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and at one time, as NFC plc, was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was established ...

, known as BRS Parcels. Those amalgamated companies handling rail transport became known as National Carriers, while BRS Parcels became Roadline. In 1982, the Conservative Government led by

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

privatised these services, making shares in the newly formed National Freight Corporation available to employees at a price that proved to undervalue the company when they were floated on the stock market. Two businesses, National Carriers and Roadline, subsequently merged and operated briefly under the name National Carriers Roadline before becoming Lynx Express Delivery Network. This remained the company's full title, although it was shortened in practice. Following a reorganisation, rationalisation of core business interests and rebranding exercise, National Freight Corporation, by this time shortened to NFC plc, merged with Ocean Group plc and became known as Exel, and Lynx Express was seen as outside its main area of concentration. In 1997, Lynx Express Delivery Network was the subject of a management buyout from Exel and subsequently renamed Lynx Express. Lynx Express became majority owned by Bridgepoint Capital. The company acquired

’s remaining local delivery asset, Red Star Parcels, in January 1999. In 2005, Lynx Express was acquired by UPS for £55.5 million (US$97.1 million). At the time, Lynx Express was one of the largest parcel carriers in the UK, with sales of $295 million (£170 million) for the financial year ending 2 October 2004. The company was subsequently integrated into UPS, and the Lynx brand disappeared.

References

External links

UPS press release on purchase
{{UPS Logistics companies of the United Kingdom Transport companies established in 1955 Transport companies disestablished in 2005 United Parcel Service 1955 establishments in the United Kingdom 2005 disestablishments in the United Kingdom 2005 mergers and acquisitions