New research from Barclays Corporate and Grant Thornton suggest that more consolidation should be expected in the UK logistics sector. Most of the country’s major logistics operators are foreign-owned; overseas ownership of the top 50 companies has increased to 52% over the past five years.
The research suggested that the majority of respondents think merger and acquistion activity will increase over the next 12 months, with a director of Grant Thornton advising that medium-sized firms need to consider M and As in order to avoid being squeezed out by major operators offering economies of scale or niche operators offering tailor made solutions to customers.
“UK logistics firms need to be more successful in expanding overseas if they want to remain independent.”