Fastway Couriers

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]

History since 2016

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.