The backing, which comes two months after Secured Mail announced a tie-up with delivery company City Link, will support the expansion of its home shopping packet solution, including investment into new machinery and new jobs at its sortation hub in Crick.

Secured Mail has also expanded its national sales team and the Next Wave investment supports the rapid new business growth that is being generated by these new appointments.

Next Wave has backed the growth ambitions of Secured Mail since it first invested in the business in 2011, when revenue was £48million. Turnover in 2013 is expected to grow to £80million.

Mark Bigley, chief executive of Secured Mail, said: “Since the first funding from Next Wave in 2011, we have gone from strength to strength, investing in our people, technology and infrastructure to become one of the largest postal providers in the country.

“This new backing puts us in the perfect position for our next phase of development. We are committed to continued investment in the business to support our customers and provide the most reliable postal service in the UK.”

Stephen Walls, of Next Wave Partners, said: “We are delighted to provide fresh development capital to Secured Mail and support Mark Bigley and the management team to drive continued market-leading growth. The company is well-positioned to continue to capitalise on the opportunities in the growing UK e-commerce postal market and support UK businesses, who require a trusted operator with a reliable network to deliver their mail.”

Organised by The Institute of Sales & Marketing Management, the British Excellence in Sales & Marketing Awards (BESMA) represents the UK’s highest level of recognition for outstanding sales achievement.

Tom was acknowledged at the awards for his dedication to Secured Mail and his leadership skills, identifying opportunities, marketplace developments and targets. His strong record of converting prospects to customers – with a team tender conversion rate of over 40% – was also commended.

Having joined the business in 2008, Tom has played an instrumental role in its growth from small operator in Liverpool, to one of the top three postal businesses in the UK.

Commenting on his award, Tom said: “To get the recognition against some talented sales directors is a real honour, but this award is testament to the hard work and commitment of the great team we have at Secured Mail. The future is looking very positive for the business and I’m delighted to be involved with such a visionary, entrepreneurial team.”

Having started 2013 by signing a deal with City Link, the postal operator, which has featured in The Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 two years in a row, has ambitious growth plans for this year.

Clara Philpin, Lauren Metaal and Anne-Marie Robinson will play key roles in these growth plans, working closely with Sales and Business Development Director, Tom Kilroy.

Clara Philpin joins Secured Mail as a Senior Business Development Manager from UK Mail. Clara has been in the transport industry for twenty years, having focused on DSA for the past five years. Prior to working at UK Mail, Clara worked for TNT Post in its business development team.

Lauren Metaal also joins Secured Mail as a Senior Business Development Manager, with four years of DSA experience and over ten working in logistics.

Clara and Lauren join the existing business development team in focusing on new business and developing existing relationships over the coming year.

Anne-Marie Robinson has been appointed as a Key Account Manager for the South of England. Anne-Marie has previously worked for both TNT Post and UK Mail. She will focus on retaining, maintaining and developing existing customer relationships in the South of England.

Tom Kilroy, Sales and Business Development Director for Secured Mail said: “We welcome Clara, Lauren and Anne-Marie into our team during this period of steady growth for the business. We are excited about what 2013 has in store for Secured Mail and look forward to developing the business further.”

Post has always been an important part of City Link’s business and by teaming up with best in class partner, Secured Mail, it will ensure that it can guarantee the same high levels of customer service associated with the City Link brand.

City Link and Secured Mail are working together to develop innovative and cost-effective post solutions for all customers’ postal needs.
The partnership will benefit from capitalising on each others strengths, by bringing together City Link’s regionalised account management teams and dedicated customer care team, as well as a UK-wide network with Secured Mail’s scalability and state-of-the-art sortation machinery for letters and packets.

Tony Bannister, Head of Post, City Link commented: “Until now, downstream access within post services has tended to benefit the very large businesses due to volume discounts. We believe that this partnership will bring these benefits to all types of customers and so will be of particular interest to those in the SME market.

“City Link already works with our customers to pick up their larger packets and parcels for delivery within the UK and abroad and so, as we are already at their premises, it makes complete sense for us to collect their post too. By providing this one-stop-shop approach, customers will benefit from time and effort efficiencies as well as using a cost-effective service; clearly something that we believe will be of significant interest to them.

“While the move follows the ever changing demands of the marketplace, from our customers’ perspective, this change will be seamless. Secured Mail has the flexibility and proven capabilities to provide an outstanding service to SMEs as well as larger organisations and this strategic partnership will bring a number of benefits to them.”

Mark Bigley, founder and Chief Executive of Secured Mail added, “We are pleased to be collaborating withCity Link, as we both strive to deliver even greater benefits to our customers. By utilising the best bits of each company we will be able to focus on innovation in the postal industry, delivering excellent services to all businesses, including SMEs, across the UK.”

Handling 350,000 parcels daily City Link boasts an annual turnover of over £300 million. It has more than 65 corporately owned depots across the UK and operates 2,500 delivery vehicles. The company offers a range of services including UK Next Day delivery, Sameday, International as well as Post.

Secured Mail, whose clients include Amazon and British Gas, has grown rapidly since it was founded and has seen sales rise year on year. In 2007 sales were already at £900,000 and had risen to £32.6million by 2010 – an annual increase of 233 per cent. The projected turnover for 2012 is £68million.

The Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 league table ranks Britain’s 100 private companies with the fastest-growing sales over their latest three years.

Mark Bigley, Managing Director and Founder said: “We are thrilled to appear in The Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 once again. This past year has been an exciting one for our team and everyone has worked incredibly hard to achieve this level of growth.

“It is not the easiest of economic markets to be operating in, but we have faced the challenges head on and are pleased that our commitment has been recognised through this ranking.”

Representatives from Secured Mail will attend a formal event in May at the Oxfordshire home of Sir Richard Branson to celebrate the success.

Release ends

Secured Mail, the Warrington-based global postal operator, has invested in a new international sorting machine, making it the only consolidator in the UK with an ID Mail Dispatcher.

Secured Mail has been providing international mail solutions for over four years and, due to substantial growth both domestically and internationally, have been able to invest heavily in automation technology this year. The Mail Dispatcher sorting machine is able to sort and route mail by country and affix indicia by label, enabling the postal operator to sort and route letters and packets at a rate of approximately 3000 letters per hour.

Transactional, Direct Mail, periodicals and catalogues currently make up the majority of Secured Mail’s international mail and the Dispatcher is able to efficiently sort large volumes of mixed destination mail. Secured Mail has also recently added the option of an International Business Reply Service for its customers, which ensures customers get a response from their direct mailings.

Graham Rothery, Head of International Mail Solutions at Secured Mail said;

“There are many differences between domestic and international mail, and we have the specialist knowledge to guide our customers to make the best choices for their business needs.

“Our new sorting equipment enables us to provide an even better service for our customers, ensuring we have the scope to deliver and the service quality they can rely on. All international customers will benefit from this new capability.”

Ursula joins Secured Mail with over 15 years experience in mail distribution and mail-related print, having worked for Royal Mail, UK Mail and ONEPOST. Guy began working in the postal industry in 1998 and has worked internationally for Air Business and domestically for ONEPOST.

Tom Kilroy, sales and business development director for Secured Mail, said: “Ursula and Guy both have outstanding records in winning and retaining clients and their experience will be vital to the continued growth of Secured Mail. Ursula will be developing our strategic new mail and packets business whilst Guy will be focusing on new business from a range of sectors, including retailers, charities and publishers.”

Ursula and Guy will both be based at Secure Mail’s head office in Warrington.

Announced at last night’s awards ceremony [Thursday 18th October] Mark was recognised for his entrepreneurial vision and ongoing strategic direction for the postal operator.

Mark founded Secured Mail, named in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 as the second fastest growing business in 2011, in 2006, following a career as an intellectual property consultant and a stint as the UK’s youngest town center manager for Southport. Mark’s direction has seen the company grow rapidly over the last 6 years, with Secured Mail currently employing over 200 people and projecting a turnover of £65,000,000 for the 2012 financial year. Secured Mail is now one of the top three postal operators in the country and this level of growth is testament to the growing demand for its services and to Mark’s entrepreneurial flair.

Mark said: “I am thrilled to be recognised by EN magazine, particularly against tough competition. Seeing my vision for Secured Mail come to life and continue to develop and grow in the current economic climate is incredibly rewarding.

“The last year has been particularly exciting, as we received investment from Next Wave Partners and secured major contracts with new clients, including Centrica and Southern Water. I work with a fantastic team and we look forward to our next phase of growth as we aim to increase delivery to 1 billion items per year by 2014.”

Michael, who joined Secured Mail in early 2011, was awarded Young Financial Director of the Year at the third North West Finance Awards.

As the Financial Director of the UK’s second fastest growing business in 2011, according to The Sunday Times Fast Track 100, Michael has displayed great entrepreneurial leadership, navigating Secured Mail through a period of phenomenal success. His financial leadership has helped the company to follow an ambitious growth plan through tough economic times and played a significant role in its first acquisition, that of DHL’s Down Stream Access Division.

Since being founded in 2006 and notching up a first-year turnover of £55,000 the company has recorded year-on-year sales rises and projected a £65million turnover for 2012. Secured Mail is now one of the top three postal operators in the country, with customers including Amazon, Southern Water and Domino’s Pizza. This success and impressive growth, brings with it huge challenges for a Financial Director.

A certified accountant, before joining Secured Mail Michael held senior roles at Baker Tilly, Alliance & Leicester and Littlewoods Shop Direct Group. More recently, Mike spent over three years at Stewart Group, where he was Group Financial Controller for the global business.

Michael said: “To receive such high recognition against some tough competition is a huge honor but it is a team effort and I am surrounded by and supported by a great team who handle the dynamic and fast growing pace of Secured Mail exceptionally well.

“The future continues to look promising for Secured Mail, with recent client wins and our ambitious growth plans. I am excited to continue to face the challenges that come with working within an organisation that has enjoyed such impressive growth as ours. Our industry is facing a challenging but exciting time at the moment, and Secured Mail is committed to taking this head-on.”

Linda brings with her 21 years of experience at Royal Mail, where she held a number of senior management roles, working primarily as an account director for major financial services clients. She was heavily involved in developing and maintaining strategic relationships and growing account profitability.

Tom Kilroy, sales and business development director for Secured Mail, said: “Linda’s background and professional experience will be invaluable in helping us continue to grow our business, whilst shaping a high-performing, customer-focused team to meet the challenges ahead.”

Linda added: “Secured Mail is a dynamic company, achieving outstanding growth in the mail market. Having achieved second place in the Sunday Times Fast Track, this is a great time to be joining the company. I look forward to working in partnership with our clients and driving the on-going strategic direction of the business.”