uShip Acquires UK Courier Exchange boxby.co.uk
By Uship, PRNEMonday, June 21, 2010
Purchase Supports uShip's Global Expansion Whilst Giving UK Couriers More Opportunity to Fill Extra Space in Lorries
LONDON, June 22, 2010 - uShip (www.uship.com), the global online transport marketplace,
today announced the acquisition of boxby.co.uk, the UK's first web site to
offer a transport exchange for couriers. The transaction provides UK house
removal firms and eBay couriers access to more delivery jobs, helping them
run full and more efficiently as they battle rising fuels costs and VAT
increases.
(Logo: photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100202/USHIPLOGO) (Logo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100202/USHIPLOGO)
The boxby.co.uk site will remain active throughout the
incorporation of key uShip processes and functionality. Boxby co-founder
Sandra Patterson will serve as a uShip consultant.
"Boxby has done an outstanding job organically establishing itself within
a competitive UK courier services market," said Matt Chasen, CEO and founder
uShip. "Acquiring Boxby directly supports uShip's current global expansion by
helping to build on our already explosive UK growth, which has jumped 300
percent since last year."
Ayrshire, Scotland-based Boxby and uShip operate similar and
complementary businesses: each matches customers' deliveries with extra space
in transporters' vans, resulting in fewer empty lorries on the road and more
affordable delivery costs. Research shows a quarter to half of UK lorries
operate virtually empty, while using uShip saves customers an average of
40-50 percent.
Sandra and Alistair Patterson started Boxby in 2007 after operating the
online Lochryan Furniture Store for 20 years. By selling items through their
website and eBay, they found that in nearly all cases, items sold were too
large, too valuable or too heavy to post. Seeing the need, they created the
Boxby delivery business. Today, over 2,500 couriers are registered on Boxby.
About uShip
uShip helps relieve the stress and high cost of moving hard-to-ship
items, such as cars, furniture, pianos, boats, haulage, heavy equipment, pets
and more. As the first and largest online transport marketplace, uShip
connects people and businesses with feedback-rated transporters. Carriers
place competitive bids to win business, often filling extra space in their
trucks and saving customers an average of 50 percent. During its first five
years, the uShip marketplace attracted pounds Sterling 100 million in
business transactions, one million listings and 170,000 service providers.
Launched in 2004, uShip operates globally with localized functionality in the
United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, European Union and Australia.
Media Contact: Dean Jutilla, uShip 0800-098-8022 dean@uship.com
Dean Jutilla of uShip, 0800-098-8022, dean at uship.com
Tags: June 22, London, United Kingdom, Uship