Cabbie’s family share £110m as UK Mail is sold to the Germans

IT STARTED life as a small taxi service in a North London suburb in the early 70s.

Forty five years later, UK Mail is set to be sold to a German rival for more than £240m – handing a £110m fortune to the family of the firm’s founder Peter Kane.

Britain’s second-biggest post firm yesterday agreed terms with Deutsche Post in a deal which looks set to shake up the postal market and put more pressure on Royal Mail.

The offer of 440p per share was unanimously backed by UK Mail’s directors and major shareholders. But Mr Kane, 69, is not set to receive a penny having transferred all of his shares to his younger brother Michael, his children and his ex-wife.

This is believed to be for inheritance tax planning purposes, with Mr Kane having collected millions in dividends over the years.

His son John is set to be the biggest beneficiary, with his 25pc stake worth around £60m.

Peter’s younger brother Michael is in line for £23m, while his daughter and son-in-law will get £13.3m between them.

Ex-wife Ghislaine, who lives in a large gated house in a wealthy Buckinghamshire village, will also hit the jackpot, with £14.7m.

Kane has managed to keep an extraordinarily low profile while amassing a multi-million pound business empire, with 2,800 staff.

UK Mail collects 53m parcels and handles 2.8bn items a year.

The firm’s share price has fallen by a third over two years, giving Deutsche Post an opportunity to snap it up on the cheap. UK Mail’s share price soared 43pc.