HMT LLP undertook financial due diligence for leading delivery management company Whistl on their acquisition of fulfilment and contact centre group Spark Ecommerce Group.
Headquartered in Marlow, Whistl is a leading delivery management company with activities in Business Mail, Doordrop Media, Parcels and e-fulfillment. They are market leaders in Downstream Access Mail (DSA) services, handling over 50% of bulk business mail in the UK and their mail expertise and infrastructure supports their continued growth in the parcel delivery and the e-commerce markets.
Based in Gateshead, Spark is a 20-year-old company which provides inbound and outbound customer services alongside an order fulfilment operation. The group consists of: Spark Response, a provider of contact centre and fulfilment services to some of the UK’s best-known brands, and Spark Etail which acts as an online retailer for ethical products via its Ethicalsuperstore.com, Natural Collection, Frank & Faith and Spirit of Nature websites.
Spark has worked with online brands and retailers, most recently including WW (formerly Weight Watchers), FitFlop, Micro Scooters, Shark Ninja and PGA European Tour.
Following the transaction, Spark will in time rebrand to Whistl Fulfilment. The business will continue to operate from the North East and the existing operations and management team will remain in place.
HMT undertook financial due diligence for Whistl on this transaction.
“We have enjoyed working with the HMT team again on our latest acquisition as we diversify the business and grow in the parcels and fulfilment sectors.”
– Manoj Parmar, CFO of Whistl
“We are delighted to have advised Whistl on yet another transaction following Mail Workshop and Parcel Hub joining the Whistl family earlier this year. We are looking forward to work with Whistl in the future as they grow their fulfilment business with other acquisitions. ”
– Paul Read
