Panther fleet

Panther Warehousing has acquired West Yorkshire-based two-man delivery company Hi-Way Express Home Delivery for an undisclosed sum.

The business, which is part of the Crick-based Panther group, has acquired Hi-Way Express and its 200,000ft² warehouse in Castleford from domestic appliance company Pacifica Group.

Hi-Way has no vehicles or drivers and subcontracts all its transport movements out to other firms. A Panther spokeswoman was unavailable to confirm whether Panther will be operating any vehicles from the new site.

Panther Warehousing hopes the merger will create a company with a combined turnover of £25m within the next 12 months. Panther Warehousing’s most recent set of annual accounts showed that it had a turnover of £7.5m for the year ended 31 December 2012.

Panther Warehousing chairman Wilson Barrett said: “We have been looking for an M62 corridor depot for a number of months and this acquisition has given us a prime opportunity to increase our critical mass as well as provide us with the right depot location.”

The company changed its business model from general haulage to next-day two-man delivery in 2010 and opened new sites in County Durham and Somerset earlier this year.

Other companies operating under the Panther brand include Panther Storage & Warehousing and Panther Parcels & Courier, which operate as separate entities to Panther Warehousing.