The parcel delivery business Evri is to hire 9,000 extra workers in a race to take on Royal Mail, just days after agreeing to be taken over by a giant buyout fund.

Evri said it planned to take on 8,000 more delivery drivers and 1,000 more workers amid exploding demand for online shopping.

Last week, the US private equity giant Apollo reached a deal to buy Evri for £2.7bn after outbidding rivals in an auction. It pledged to further invest in expansion amid an online delivery arms race.

Evri said demand for parcel delivery now exceeded the peaks during the pandemic when working from home and lockdowns led to a surge in online shopping. 

Recent growth has been driven by smaller merchants going online, fast-growing Asian sellers Shein and Temu, and second-hand sales from marketplaces such as Vinted.

Evri, which was known as Hermes until 2022, will have 28,000 couriers after the expansion, delivering around 4m parcels a day. Its delivery drivers are self-employed and the company says they typically earn £16.50 an hour.

The 8,000 drivers cover Evri’s busiest Christmas period, although the company said it always needs new couriers.

Evri also said it was building the UK’s largest fleet of parcel delivery e-bikes as part of a plan to be net zero by 2035.

Apollo’s deal to buy Evri from buyout fund Advent is expected to be completed later in the year. Other suitors had included DHL and the Chinese ecommerce giant JD.com.

The expansion will pitch Evri against Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire leading a takeover of Royal Mail’s parent company International Distribution Services.