The fate of 2,000 workers formerly employed by Tuffnells Parcels Express remains unclear after the logistics company was bought out of administration.
Technology firm Shift has bought the Tuffnells brand and selected assets after the Sheffield-based company went into administration earlier this month, attributing its financial pressures to the impact of Covid-19, high-cost inflation and an increasingly competitive market.
Shift is a tech-based platform that matches deliveries to drivers, based on the routes they have scheduled. Customers include Ikea and Homebase.
When Tuffnells’ deliveries were suspended earlier in June, administrator Interpath Advisory said it had no choice but to make the company’s 2,200 employees redundant.
Shift has now launched a dedicated recruitment form for former Tuffnells employees to register their interest in roles at the firm.
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Yesterday, Shift CEO and founder Jacob Corlett told City AM that 700 ex-Tuffnells employees have already reached out to the company, but could not confirm whether they would be hired because it had not yet secured a deal to take over the leases at Tuffnells’ 33 depots.
Corlett said of the deal: “We are delighted to announce today that we have acquired Tuffnells out of administration and we are in the process of incorporating the business into our tech-based logistics platform.
“Tuffnells is one of the UK’s most recognisable logistics companies, which provides delivery services to over 4,000 businesses across the UK and this acquisition will significantly increase our logistics coverage across the country.
“The acquisition supports our vision for Shift’s tech-driven logistics platform to disrupt both consumer and business logistics, through cutting-edge AI-driven routing decisions and driver management efficiency. We are also currently in dialogue with relevant parties to enable us to reopen some depots and provide re-employment opportunities.”
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Richard Harrison, managing director at Interpath Advisory, said: “We are pleased to have concluded this transaction which secures the future of one of the UK’s longest-standing and well-recognised courier brands, as well as helping to facilitate an opportunity for the purchaser to generate a number of jobs. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the employees and other stakeholders who have supported us throughout the administration process to date.”
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