Shutl
| Industry | Delivery |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
|
Key people
|
Tom Allason |
| Products | Transportation of goods |
| Website | Shutl.com |
Shutl is a London-based technology start-up offering a rapid fulfillment service by connecting online retailers with local same-day couriers. The startup company is best known for offering delivery of online shopping orders in 90 minutes or less. The company was founded in 2008 by tech entrepreneur Tom Allason.
Shutl’s official launch took place on 9 December 2009 at LeWeb, a European Internet conference. Shutl has been featured on several international technology media outlets, including Mashable, Wired, and CNBC.
Shutl received £500k of venture capital investment in October 2009. Investors included Dr. Simon Murdoch, Paul Birch, Mark Zaleski, and Big Bang Ventures of Belgium. Murdoch, who was previously Vice President of Amazon in Europe, joined the company’s board as non-executive chairman. Prior to launch in December 2009, founder Tom Allason was secretive about what precisely Shutl would be.
In the first several months of operations, Shutl was available in London only. Shutl completed its first delivery transaction in March 2010. The company’s initial growth rate was about 50 percent month on month. Company executives mapped out a plan early for growth within the UK and then internationally. One of the first major retailers to adopt the service in London was Argos, the UK’s largest multichannel retailer.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Shutl an official trademark in August 2011. During the summer, the service expanded into Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds and Manchester, with service to Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and Liverpool following shortly thereafter. By Christmas that same year, Shutl extended its coverage to serve 50% of the UK’s online shoppers. 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 North American launch. The company received a $2 million investment from the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund. The French post office, La Poste, has made a similar investment through its wholly owned subsidiary, Geopost. The company has raised a total of $7.9 million to date. Shutl was launched in February 2013.
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