InPost acquisition of Yodel paused by the courts

The £106 million acquisition of Yodel by InPost Group has been paused following an injunction application to the High Court.

The application was submitted by Shift, a UK-based logistics platform, and Corja Holdings, owned by Shift’s CEO Jacob Corlett.

The acquisition followed Yodel's previous rescue deal in February 2024 by YDLGP, a consortium led by Corlett and Solano Partners.

Shift had previously acquired and relaunched Tuffnells in June 2023, after the business entered administration. 

At the recent initial hearing of the injunction application, the High Court judge sanctioned an order of undertakings placed on Yodel that restricts InPost’s ability to integrate the business, or from making any material changes spanning investment, leadership, restructuring and changes to the workforce.

Prior to the announcement of the acquisition of Yodel last month (April), Shift and Corlett formally put InPost on notice of their possession of warrants.

These warrants collectively assert rights to over 66% of Yodel’s share capital – a stake that would have handed them working control of Yodel.

Notwithstanding this formal notification, InPost moved to acquire the parent of Yodel with the rights still in place, says Corlett (pictured below).

He added: “We're confident the courts will uphold our rights. Hopefully, InPost will now review the situation properly and a meaningful dialogue can begin.

“Meanwhile, our priority remains safeguarding Yodel and its workforce and taking steps to enforce our rights through court proceedings, which I have zero doubt will be successful.”

The order will remain in place until the outcome of a hearing of the applications takes place.

InPost said in a statement: “The InPost acquisition of Yodel continues having been part of the InPost Group since 17 April, 2025.

“Whilst Yodel has reluctantly provided some voluntary undertakings, these do not stop Yodel from progressing key parts of its business transformation, to which both Yodel and InPost are fully committed.

“It is extremely disappointing that Jacob Corlett is trying to hamper the operations of a business that has only now started to recover from his four months of leadership, after significant cash injection from InPost.

“We are confident that the court will see this opportunistic and fanciful application for what it is and will dismiss Corlett’s attempts to seek an injunction.”