Dublin headquartered Toga Freight Services Ltd has acquired the equity of Irish Sea Logistics Ltd, a London based freight forwarder. The deal represents the second acquisition by Toga Freight Services Ltd in 2024.
Irish Sea Logistics Ltd, as the name suggests, is a specialist forwarder operating between Great Britain and Ireland and is based in Erith, Kent and operates from a customs TSF Bonded warehouse from where groupage trailers are loaded daily to Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Toga Freight Services was founded in 1978 by Peter Toner and Martin Gately, hence the name “Toga”, being a combination of the start of their surnames. The business was acquired by the current board consisting of Robert Dickinson, Muriel Corish and Darragh Toner via a management buy out in the summer of 2023. Since then, the business has embarked on an aggressive strategy of growth, acquisition and development in new markets.
Speaking of this latest acquisition, Robert Dickinson, Managing Director of Toga Freight Services Ltd commented: “We are delighted to welcome Ian, Tisha and the team in Erith into the Toga Family. The core business they have will fit very well with other Toga Group business that we have in the area and the combined volumes for Ireland from the Southeast is a very exciting proposition for us”. He continues: “There is a customs team in place in Erith that can now work closely with our own expanding team in Toga Customs in Dublin to develop the land bridge option for the large volume of European cargo we already control, bound for Ireland. This deal is the second of a number of acquisitions that are planned in 2024 in the UK and Ireland and is a key part of our globalisation strategy to expand our service offering to our 11,500 customers, we are still looking for additional opportunities”.
Darragh Toner, Operations Director of Toga Group said: “We are fortunate to have been able to acquire Irish Sea Logistics Ltd and to provide services in Ireland to their customers and for them to help us with our large volume of daily collections in the UK. Our network of European partners is also excited to be able to work with a Toga Group company in the UK, which will share the culture and customer-centric philosophy of the Dublin parent company”.
Speaking of the latest acquisition, Toga Group’s Finance Director, Muriel Corish said: “Rarely in business is there such an obvious fit between two companies and I’m thrilled this connection has now been completed. There is a unique opportunity for Irish Sea Logistics to rapidly increase their volumes to Ireland as well as handle the land bridge traffic for Toga Dublin from mainland Europe. We have had the Brexit challenges conquered for a few years at this stage, so we’re looking forward to helping Irish Sea Logistics’ customers to grow their flows to Ireland also”.
Ian Robery, General Manager of the Erith operation agrees: “To merge in with the Toga operation is an obvious next step. The wide partner connections they have across Europe, the UK and of course Ireland is unsurpassed, so we are thrilled to be allowed access to such exclusive freight routes. We can now sell east and west from Erith and genuinely believe that our services are amongst the best available.”.
