Staples Solutions B.V. has announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its book of business in the UK (www.staples.co.uk and staplesadvantage.co.uk) to Banner Group Ltd, part of the EVO Group.

Staples will continue to support its 3PL business in the UK but is looking for a smaller warehouse to serve those customers. Staples Solutions will also honour all its UK pension obligations. Although this transaction safeguards as many employee roles as possible, some future reorganisation may be made.

Dolph Westerbos, Chief Executive Officer of Staples Solutions said, “I am pleased we have found such a strong partner in Banner to support our customers and employees going forward. Following the sale of our UK retail business more than 3 years ago, our remaining contracts and online business has been burdened with a spectacular distribution centre and a systems infrastructure that was simply too large and costly. Despite winning substantial new tenders and strong revenue performance over the past 2 years, the heavy fixed cost burden meant our UK business remained structurally loss-making.

“Now as part of a larger company, the future support of our customers and many colleagues are on solid ground, and that gives me great satisfaction. Banner will inherit a strong business, which showed its resilience once more during the corona-crisis. In fact, over these first 7 months in 2020, we grew our UK book of business compared to 2019, and I think that is a remarkable success. Credit to our entire UK team.”

Steve Haworth, Chief Executive Officer of EVO added, “we are delighted to have reached this agreement with Staples Solutions B.V and look forward to welcoming our new colleagues, customers and suppliers into the EVO family.  It has become clear during the past months that we share a common approach to how we do business and this approach together with the quality of the business that is being acquired make the conclusion of this agreement all the more pleasing.  We look forward to the platform that the wider EVO Group represents contributing further to the obvious progress that has been made in this business.”