EV Growth Fund

Industry heavyweights join Imail Comms board

Imail Comms, the Hybrid Mail business resulting from a recent MBO, has announced the appointment of two new directors to its Board. 

Guy Buswell, UK Mail’s former CEO, joins the Board as Executive Chairman and Stephen Agar, who until recently was Managing Director of Royal Mail’s letters business, becomes a non-executive director. Guy and Stephen were on opposite sides of the fence when they negotiated the first Downstream Access contract back in 2004. Nowadays most letters in the UK are posted through an Access agreement, more than 5 billion letters a year. 

Imail Comms was recently backed in its MBO from DHL Parcel UK by the Private Equity team of Mercia Asset Management PLC. Jill Williams, Deputy Fund Principal, commented: “Hybrid mail is undergoing rapid growth as it substitutes for stamped and franked mail processed in traditional mail rooms, with Imail Comms a leading player in the market. We are delighted to support Andy, Guy, Stephen and the team in the next phase of growth, and we look forward to further business development over the coming months.” 

Andy Barber, Chief Executive, said: “I am delighted to be working with two postal industry ‘heavyweights’ who have a firm grasp on the current and future mail market. I am confident that both Guy’s and Stephen’s backgrounds will underpin our plans to expand our well-established and new Hybrid and Digital Mail services across the commercial and Public Sector. Their pedigree in Postal services reinforces our ambition to become the undisputed leader in Hybrid Mail services and I am delighted to welcome them both to the Board.” 

Guy Buswell added: “I’m very pleased to be able to support Andy and his team in achieving their goals for Imail Comms. Andy has taken our vision for Imail back in 2008 to arrive at the MBO today. I look forward to helping the team take this business to the next level. And welcome to Stephen Agar, the Downstream Access founder, who I worked with for many years while he was at Royal Mail.” 

Stephen Agar said: “I am looking forward to working with Andy, Guy and the great team at Imail Comms. It’s an open secret that mail works, particularly when used to complement digital. And Imail Comms is one of the easiest and least expensive ways of getting your messages delivered. This is going to be fun.”