Shutl is a subsidiary of eBay Inc. which provides delivery services. The company was founded in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 2008 by Tom Allason, as a company offering a rapid fulfillment service by connecting online retailers with local same-day couriers. The company was bought by eBay in 2013.Moules, Jonathan (December 9, 2009). "Shutl offers online shoppers delivery in 90 minutes". Financial Times.

History

Shutl received £500k of

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

investment in October 2009 from investors including

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, Paul Birch, Mark Zaleski, and Big Bang Ventures of

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. Murdoch, who was previously Vice President of

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, joined the company's board as non-executive chairman. Shutl's official launch took place on 9 December 2009 at LeWeb, a European Internet conference. The company acted as an aggregator for same-day delivery services over short distances, connecting retailers with couriers who made deliveries within a ten-mile radius of the retailer's premises. In the first months of operations, Shutl was available in London only. Its first delivery transaction took place in March 2010.Robinson, Duncan (26 August 2012). "Courier service Shutl shifts up a gear". Financial Times. The company's initial growth rate was about 50 percent month-on-month. Company executives planned for growth within the UK and then internationally. One of the first major retailers to adopt the service in London was

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, the UK's largest multichannel retailer. The

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

granted Shutl a trademark in August 2011."USPTO Issues Trademark: Shutl" (Aug. 9, 2011). US Fed News Service. By Christmas that year, Shutl extended its coverage to serve 50% of the UK's online shoppers.Barrett, Clear (Oct. 3, 2011). “Shutl expands to capture Christmas orders”. Financial Times. By mid-2012, Shutl operated in more than 50 UK cities and towns, serving 70% of UK shoppers. In 2012, Shutl executives began planning for a

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launch.Robinson, Duncan (Aug. 27, 2012). "Shutl eyes US launch from 'Silicon Roundabout'". Financial Times. The company received a $2 million investment from the

UPS UPS or ups may refer to: Companies and organizations * United Parcel Service, an American shipping company ** The UPS Store, UPS subsidiary ** UPS Airlines, UPS subsidiary * Underground Press Syndicate, later ''Alternative Press Syndicate'' or ...

Strategic Enterprise Fund and the French post office, La Poste, made a similar investment through its wholly owned subsidiary, Geopost. The launch took place in February 2013. In 2012, Shutl offered Jamaican sprinter and Olympic champion

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight- ...

a one-percent stake in the company in exchange for his endorsement.Jackson, Steven (Aug. 23, 2012). “Shutl chases Usain Bolt”. The Weekly Gleaner. The company won the 2012 DHL Online Fulfillment Initiative of the Year award, and Startups.co.uk ranked Shutl at number 1 in their top 100 startups of the year. In November 2012, the company won the National Business Awards Start-up Business of the Year award. In January 2013, Shutl won Best Transport, Travel or Environmental Startup at The Europas. In June 2019, eBay UK announced they would be changing their delivery service provider from Shutl to Packlink.

Purchase by Ebay

On 23 October 2013, it was announced by

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

that it had bought the firm and was aiming for one-hour delivery in the UK. As of 2018, Shutl Limited continued to be registered in London, as a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay International AG. eBay turned off integration with Shutl in July 2019.

References

{{reflist Transport companies established in 2008 Companies based in London EBay 2013 mergers and acquisitions 2008 establishments in England Transport companies disestablished in 2019 2019 disestablishments in England