UK Mail, a trading name of DHL Parcel UK Limited (formerly Business Post), is a

postal service The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sy ...

company operating in the United Kingdom, which has competed with

Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...

in collection and distribution of mail, since the deregulation of the postal service in January 2006. Its distribution network delivers mail to local

sorting office A sorting office or processing and distribution center (P&DC; name used by the United States Postal Service (USPS)) is any location where postal operators bring mail after collection for sorting into batches for delivery to the addressee, whic ...

s for last mile delivery through

downstream access Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels). ...

. UK Mail competes primarily with

and

Whistl Whistl (formerly TNT Post UK) is a postal delivery company based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England. The company primarily competes (and in some instances partners) with UK Mail, UPS, Parcelforce, DHL, Evri, Royal Mail and Yodel. Accordi ...

. Since December 2016, the company has been owned by Deutsche Post DHL Group. The company name was changed from UK Mail Limited to DHL Parcel UK Limited in July 2018, and its parcel service rebranded, although the name ''UK Mail'' will continue to be used for mail and packet services.

History

UK Mail originated as a taxi firm in Harrow in 1971. In just a few years, the company evolved into a national business offering same day courier and overnight parcel delivery. By 1986, the then much larger company became Business Post, and was then listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

in 1993. UK Mail was granted one seven year licence by Postcomm in June 2003 to provide postal services for business customers. It began trading in May 2004, with Powergen as its first customer, and delivered its one billionth item of mail in October 2006. In July 2009, its parent company, Business Post Group, became UK Mail Group to "reflect the growing importance of the mail arm". In November 2015, problems caused by a new automated sorting hub had resulted in a loss in profit, and a share price drop. In September 2016, UK Mail announced that it would be acquired by Deutsche Post. By this time, the news media reported that the company had established "one of the largest integrated parcels and mail operations in the United Kingdom". The sale was concluded in December 2016, for US$315.5 (£243 million). The former company became a division of the Deutsche Post European parcel network although its web site acknowledges only the relationship with

DHL Express DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...

. In March 2017, UK Mail was criticised for charging a sick self employed courier £216 a day as the cost of hiring a replacement. In reply, the company stated that "UK Mail only ever passes on the actual costs incurred, which is in line with the contract with the driver and with company policy".

References

External links

* {{Postal administrations of Europe 2004 establishments in the United Kingdom DHL Group Logistics companies of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Postal system of the United Kingdom Transport companies established in 2004