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Rico Logistics has told MotorTransport.co.uk that further acquisitions are on the cards, after its integration of the DHL Express Same-Day courier business it bought last November.

The DHL deal marked the first-ever acquisition for field service logistics specialist Rico, and catapulted company turnover from around £50m to £85m.

Keith Whitehead, head of strategic development at Rico, told MT that the integration of DHL Same-Day went “very well” considering the size of the operation and the timescale involved to integrate the new business.

As the acquisition took place in November, DHL’s major customers “quite rightly said you’re not doing anything leading up to Christmas”, he said.

Rico set itself a target date of 28 February to complete the integration - including closing around 10 sites and moving stock from 20 warehouses onto Rico’s systems.

With the two businesses now merged, Rico is setting its sights on growth, with plans to increase its international presence  – it currently operates in 12 major European countries and India – as well as exploring new areas to diversify into, such as refrigerated same-day services.

The company has also boosted its senior management team to support the business's rapid growth, recently appointing Tracy Jump as head of human resources.

Rico was bought by parent firm TVS in 2012, which receives financial backing from Goldman Sachs and KKR, so Whitehead said it is well positioned to make further acquisitions to strengthen its operation: “There is a lot of potential there in terms of acquisition and I feel there is more consolidation to come in the UK, as there are a lot of companies feeling the pinch across service logistics - a lot of organisations are posting losses and Rico is consistently improving profit.

"As these organisations become more shaky, we'll be looking at how we can consolidate them and provide a better service for customers,” he added.

  • MT print edition will be running a full interview with Keith Whitehead next month.

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