DX Group has acquired almost half of last-mile delivery firm Gnewt Cargo for £1.75m.

DX has bought a 49.8% stake in the firm, which runs a 100-strong fleet of zero-emission vehicles for last mile multi-drop deliveries in central London. As well as running electric vans, Gnewt also has a fleet of minivans and cargocycles.

DX hopes the acquisition will provide new capability to deliver for customers in the legal, financial and public sectors, and will bolster its high street and e-commerce operations.

Gnewt Cargo co-founders Sam Clarke and Matt Linnecar will remain with the firm. DX also plans to appoint two more directors to the Gnewt Board.

Gnewt holds contracts with Hermes and TNT Express, as well as DX Group. It began work on its Hermes contract earlier this year, delivering using a fleet of 44 electric Renault Kangoos. The service recently won the support of London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Petar Cvetkovic, DX Group chief executive, said: “We now look forward to working with the Gnewt team to expand their environmentally-friendly last-mile delivery services to other UK cities.  We will be combining Gnewt’s technical expertise with DX’s funding support and core volumes to start-up Gnewt locations across the UK.”

Co-founder and director Clarke said: “DX shares our vision and like us is passionately committed to delivering a great service to Customers.  We are very excited by this new partnership - it represents a new stage in our development and growth."

In September DX said its focus over the next three years would be on the turnaround of Nightfreight, which has been renamed DX Freight. The company acquired Nightfreight in 2012.

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