 | |
| Fastway Couriers | |
| Formerly | HB Couriers |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Courier |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Bill McGowan [1] |
Area served | Ireland United Kingdom (NI only) South Africa |
| Brands | Parcel Connect |
| Website | www.fastway.ie www.fastwayni.co.uk www.fastway.org fastway.co.za |
Fastway Couriers (formerly trading as HB Couriers [2] ) is a courier delivery services company founded in Napier, New Zealand. [3] At the peak of its service, Fastway operated delivery services in New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and South Africa. [4] The company currently operates in Northern Ireland and South Africa. [5]
The company has operated using a franchise model since 1983, [6] with franchising at the regional and courier level; regional franchises are responsible for managing the sales support and depots facilities in their region, while each courier franchise manages a courier route.
Each country with Fastway operations also has a master franchisee, who is responsible for providing the money needed to established Fastway operations, and managing the inter-city transportation of parcels. [7] Fastway Global LTD owns the Fastway branding and provides initial training to the Fastway master franchisee of each country. [8]
Fastway Global LTD also owns the Parcel Connect branding - a booking platform for Fastway Services targeted as consumers. [9] Parcel Connect currently operates in Australia and New Zealand. [10] [11] [12]
In 2016, the company's New Zealand and Australia operations and all associated assets (including domains, contracts, and depots) were acquired by Aramex. [13] [14] As part of the acquisition by Aramex, most Fastway operations have been rebranded to Aramex in Australia and New Zealand. [15] Branding of Fastway remained unchanged in other countries.
In 2022, London private equity company Elysian Capital took ownership of Fastway's Irish operations, becoming Ireland's Master Franchisee. [16] In early 2023, South African logistics company City Logistics and Clearwater Capital partnered to purchase the existing Master Franchisee rights in South Africa. [17] [18]
In October 2025, Fastway Ireland's parent company Nuvion Group collapsed into receivership, resulting in Fastway ceasing operations in Ireland with the loss of 300 jobs. [19] The Northern Irish and South African businesses are unaffected.