CitySprint News

CitySprint, the UK's largest privately owned SameDay distribution network, has acquired Coventry based Goldstar Couriers for an undisclosed sum. The deal further strengthens CitySprint's position in the Midlands following a series of three strategic acquisitions in the region in the last sixteen months. CitySprint already has an established presence with major ServiceCentres in Warwick, Birmingham, Telford and Nottingham.

Goldstar Couriers, a family run business, was established in Coventry over 25 years ago and is one of the oldest established courier companies based there. It boasts an impressive number of local customers across all sectors. From Monday 1st March 2010 Goldstar will trade as CitySprint, operating from CitySprint's MidlandCentre in Warwick. Caroline Davey, current owner of Goldstar Couriers, will remain at CitySprint and several Goldstar Couriers will also be joining the CitySprint team to ensure continuity of service for customers.

Caroline explains "My family and I have worked hard over the last 25 years to build Goldstar Couriers into an established and reliable local courier company and we have a loyal customer base, some of whom we have been providing services to for over 20 years. In the current economic climate it has been a struggle for small businesses like us, joining forces with CitySprint enables us to offer our customers an enhanced service and access to leading edge technologies and a national network of over 1500 couriers – something that we simply could not offer on our own. Our customers have always been our main concern and we have chosen to join forces with CitySprint as we are 100% confident that they will look after our customers and continue to provide them with an excellent service as we have done for the last 25 years".

Goldstar customers will now benefit from the opportunity for improved collection and delivery times made possible by CitySprint's unique national network of 30+ ServiceCentres. They will also have increased visibility over their bookings via CitySprint's sector leading OnLine services. CitySprint operates the largest GPS enabled SameDay fleet in Europe which allows its customers to benefit from real-time information at the touch of a button. Via the CitySprint website www.citysprint.co.uk customers can not only obtain quotes and book jobs but they can also track the dedicated courier assigned to their job from the point of collection through to delivery. Unlike many other systems offered by competitors CitySprint's solution offers complete transparency by providing a real-time, live, map location of the courier undertaking each job, enabling customers to track the journey from beginning to end. In addition customers automatically receive a time stamped audit trail by email as well as the recipient's signature which can then be forwarded on as a hyperlink or PDF.

Commenting on the deal, Ben Haynes, Managing Director for the Regions, said: "The Midlands is an area of strategic commercial importance and over the past 16 months we have been able to significantly enhance our service coverage here which is a vital element in ensuring we are able to professionally support our national and local customers alike. Goldstar Couriers has a longstanding and justified reputation for service excellence and I am therefore delighted that they are joining forces with ourselves. We have further acquisitions planned for 2010 to further establish ourselves as the market leader for SameDay Courier services in the UK"