Australian courier services player Sendle gets Series B
Federation Asset Management – a group headed by the former head of Macquarie Capital’s principal investment division in Australia and New Zealand – has led a A$20 million ($14.5 million) Series B for Australian courier services player Sendle.
Three domestic venture capital firms also took part in the round: Full Circle Venture Capital, Rampersand, and Impact Investment Group, the latter participating through its Giant Leap Fund. The same investors also contributed to Sendle’s A$5 million Series A in 2016. They were joined by Black Sheep Capital, another local early-stage specialist.
Sendle was founded in 2014 by James Chin Moody, Sean Geoghegan and Craig Davis, all of whom had previous entrepreneurial experience. The company operates a technology-enabled logistics business that provides affordable, door-to-door parcel delivery services, primarily to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Its major competitor is Australia Post, the longstanding dominant player in domestic courier services. In 2015, Australia Post failed in legal action against Sendle over the latter’s “post without a post office” slogan. Sendle has since sought to eat into Australia Post’s market share through initiatives such as guaranteed lower prices for domestic deliveries and flat-rate fees for small parcels sent overseas.
The start-up now has a staff of 85 and its customer base has grown 600% over the past two years, SmartCompany reported. Chin-Moody told the publication that the volumes of international deliveries doubled after the flat-rate promotion was announced. “A business like ours may not have come about in any other country,” he added. “If you can do logistics in Australia, you can do it anywhere.”
Federation focuses on investments in renewable energy, real estate, and health and education. Macquarie alumnus Cameron Brownjohn serves as CEO and has three fellow founding members, including private equity head Neil Brown, who also previously worked in principal finance at Macquarie.
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