Clipper has bought the trade, assets and distribution operations of the Bestaendig Group in Germany from the administrators BFP for an undisclosed sum.

Clipper's acquisition of the Bestaendig Group means it will serve customers in Germany, France, Austria, Spain, the Benelux countries and Poland.

The Bestaendig Group provides logistics services to a range of blue chip clients, mainly in the retail sector.

It went into administration after suffering financial problems following a decision by a key customer to re-source its logistics operations.

However, Bestaendig kept its core customer base during the brief period in administration. The firm employs 150 staff and has a projected annual turnover of 25m euros.

The new business will trade initially from six sites across Germany, with the headquarters based in Gochsheim near Wurzburg. The company will trade as Clipper Bestaendig Logistics.

Steve Parkin, the Leeds-based Clipper Group's chief executive, said yesterday: "The acquisition of the Bestaendig Group provides us with the capability to service the needs of pan-European organisations, and our existing UK client base who have plans to expand into Europe.

"The European market is poised for significant growth in e-retailing, and our experience in the UK will allow us to effectively capitalise on those opportunities.

"The acquisition is merely the start of significant expansion in Europe, which will be enhanced by further strategic acquisitions that we are currently working on."

The Clipper Group was founded by Mr Parkin in 1992 with one van delivering clothing for fashion stores.

It has grown rapidly over the last seven years through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions.

It specialises in providing logistics services for retail and industrial markets.

Its customer base includes New Look, Harvey Nichols, Littlewoods, Woolworths, Mosaic Group, John Lewis, Morrisons, GAP, Monsoon, British American Tobacco and Arcadia.

The acquisition of Gagewell Transport in 2001 dramatically enhanced Clipper's position in the logistics market, and created a company with a turnover of £16m.

Other acquisitions followed, and in December 2005, Clipper bought Northern Commercials, the Iveco and Fiat truck and van dealer based in Brighouse and Leeds, which took group sales beyond £120m.

Clipper operates from 22 sites in the UK and has a group revenue of more than £200m. Mr Parkin was part of a consortium behind a failed attempt to take over Leeds United in 2004.

GLOBAL AIM

Steve Parkin, the chief executive of the £200m-turnover Clipper Logistics Group, is considering floating the company in the next three years.

He has had the dream of being in charge of a plc since childhood.

Apart from the acquisition of the Bestaendig Group, Mr Parkin is working on a number of other deals that will establish the Clipper Group as a global brand.

His long-term goal is to turn the Clipper Group into a £1bn turnover business.

A passionate Leeds United fan, he hasn't ruled out the possibility of launching a takeover bid for the club in the future.

Mr Parkin said recently: "One of my ambitions has always been to be the chairman of a public company.

"I've had that dream since I was a young boy. We've spread the ownership of the business.

"So any flotation of the business would create wealth for literally thousands of people.

"That's something that would be a nice notch to have on my personal CV."