Shift boss launches legal bid to stall InPost’s £106m takeover of Yodel

The founder of logistics firm Shift is attempting to block Polish delivery giant InPost’s £106 million acquisition of Yodel, escalating a bitter dispute over the struggling British courier’s ownership.

Jacob Corlett, 31-year-old chief executive of Shift, is seeking a court injunction that could temporarily prevent InPost from making material changes to Yodel, though it would not stop the acquisition from proceeding. Corlett and his legal team argue that the deal, announced last week, amounts to a “stealth takeover” that lacked sufficient transparency with shareholders and regulators.

Sources close to Corlett say the ownership of Yodel remains legally contested, stemming from a failed rescue bid led by Shift in early 2024. They claim a web of unresolved legal disputes casts doubt over the legitimacy of the InPost transaction.

InPost, headquartered in Krakow, has dismissed the objections. A company spokesperson said: “Naturally, we reviewed all of this ahead of the transaction. We are entirely comfortable with the merits of Yodel’s position and see nothing here that could impact our plans to transform it into a profitable business.”

Yodel, which handles deliveries for major retailers including Zara, Argos and AO World, has faced a turbulent year. Once part of the Barclay family’s business interests, the company is said to be losing up to £1 million a week and was ranked the UK’s second-worst courier by Ofcom in October.

Earlier this year, Shift spearheaded a consortium aiming to rescue Yodel and merge the two businesses. But that deal collapsed, and Yodel was instead taken over by a group including distressed lender Independent Growth Finance, payments firm PayPoint and CEO Mike Hancox. The fallout sparked an acrimonious High Court battle.

Yodel later sued Shift and Corlett, accusing them of asset-stripping and misappropriating company funds — allegations Corlett strongly denies. He is countersuing Yodel for £10 million in alleged unpaid fees and claims he was coerced into selling his shares. Yodel, for its part, rejects all accusations.

Corlett’s challenge is backed by a group of individuals claiming to be Yodel “warrant holders” — parties with options to buy shares in the business. They argue that if their rights were exercised, they would collectively own up to 70 per cent of Yodel, thereby rendering any sale to InPost invalid without their consent.

While the injunction would not stop InPost’s purchase outright, a successful application could delay integration plans and potentially complicate the company’s efforts to turn Yodel around.

Yodel generates annual sales of approximately £500 million and employs as many as 12,000 people during peak seasons. The outcome of the legal wrangle could have significant implications for the UK delivery market — and for the thousands of staff and customers relying on the embattled courier.

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Shift boss launches legal bid to stall InPost’s £106m takeover of Yodel