Yodel is urgently calling out for as buyer as the struggling UK delivery group’s owners prepare the business for administration.

Insolvency experts at Teneo have been lined up after efforts to find a buyer continue.

However, if Yodel does fail, it could cause further headaches for an already overstretched UK delivery network. And, of course, its controlling family, The Barclay Brothers, also own major online fashion/lifestyle retailer The Very Group.

Yodel delivered nearly 200 million parcels last year but has struggled to achieve sustainable profitability amid intense competition. Yodel’s customers include John Lewis, Zara and Argos, according to its website.

Although reports say Yodel’s immediate parent Logistics Group Holdings (LGH) are talks with a number of bidders and potential financial buyers about a deal, chances of securing a buyer are reportedly slim.

Rival The Delivery Group is among several  parties to have expressed interest, reports say.

An executive at one rival operator told Sky News that LGH had been exploring whether to inject more than £25 million into Yodel in recent weeks to shore up its finances as it continues to seek a buyer.

A spokesman for the Barclay family declined to comment on the process.

Although the company is said to have enough cash to pay its delivery drivers the week after next, it’s expected to struggle to cover future costs after this.

Liverpool-based Yodel has 12,000 workers nationwide during its busiest periods and around 10,000 the rest of the year, it said on its website.

A Yodel spokesman told The Telegraph: “A process to review strategic options is nearing its conclusion with a number of parties looking to acquire the business. In the meantime Yodel is focused on business as usual.”

Accounts for LGH are more than a month overdue, according to Companies House records.