My friend and former boss Bob Thomas, who has died aged 83, was an innovative figure in the UK freight and parcels industry who in 1971 bought a 75% share in the loss-making London delivery company City Link and turned it into the country’s first express parcels carrier.
When Bob bought his City Link share for £75 I was the youngest of his three employees, based in an old fish and chip shop in north London. The company had losses approaching £20,000 on an annual turnover of £100,000 but Bob introduced innovations such as same-day deliveries throughout the UK, specific and timed deliveries, and automatic proof-of-delivery; all covered by City Link’s then-unique “double money back guarantee”. He also introduced franchising to the UK express parcels industry, and the company became known as “the courier’s courier”.
