Alantra advised Phoenix Equity Partners on the acquisition of Global Freight Solutions

Jan 2017

Buy-side advisory

Alantra has advised Phoenix Equity Partners on its investment in Global Freight Solutions (Holdings) Ltd (GFS) alongside the current management team, led by CEO Neil Cotty. GFS is a leading provider of parcel and carrier management services to retail and B2B businesses in the UK. Using its proprietary technology platform, GFS arranges delivery of approximately 10 million parcels per year on behalf of over 300 customers, providing these businesses with access to over 1,000 different delivery options through approximately 50 carriers. Phoenix will work with the GFS management team to accelerate the growth of the business.

Neil Cotty, CEO of GFS, commented: “Over the past few years, GFS has grown rapidly as e-commerce businesses increasingly recognise the importance of delivery options as a key differentiator and source of competitive advantage. GFS’s market leading technology platform allows SMEs to compete with the largest retailers on delivery, whilst our excellent relationships with our carrier partners allow us to offer the best possible range of delivery solutions to our customers, big or small. We are excited to be working with Phoenix – our partnership will give us the investment we need to ensure we remain at the forefront of our sector, and provide our customers with the very highest level of service.”

The Alantra team, led by partner Steve Currie and supported by director Paul Vanstone, advised Phoenix.

Steve Currie commented: “We were delighted to be asked to provide buy-side support to Phoenix to assist them with their investment in GFS, a unique company in the high-growth, e-commerce-driven space. A strategic partner to both retailers and carriers alike, no other company provides such a combination of technology-enabled and cost effective carrier management, parcels handling and complementary logistics services. With the support of Phoenix and their investment, I have no doubt that GFS will be a powerful disruptor in the space.”