Amtrak aims to double after sale
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• The new owner of overnight parcels delivery company Amtrak says it could double in size within the next three to five years. The Bristol-based business has been sold for £86m by Roger Baines, who launched it with his wife Elaine in 1987 with just £15,000 of capital. Amtrak's new chief executive is Mick Jones, formerly managing director of parcels carrier Business Post. He says: "Turnover has grown by 250% in the past six years to £60m. The company is now ready to enter the next phase of its growth." Turnover is expected to rise to between Et 00m and C120m by 2004—if this target is achieved the company will be floated on the Stock Market.
Amtrak currently has 330 franchises operafing from 115 depots and delivering 50,000 parcels daily. It has a fleet of 1,000 vehicles, of which 120 are used for trunking between its three hubs in Dunstable, Aldridge and Birmingham. Growth will be achieved by awarding new franchises as well as expanding existing ones. Tim Simpson of 3i, the venture capital business which led the buy-out, believes that Amtrak has been so successful because it is focused on the best sector of a growing market. "All it does is next-day deliv
ery, says Simpson, "and it offers an exceptional quality of service."
He adds that Baines has no immediate business plans following the sale.