The two companies have worked together for 20 years having established the Far East Cargo Line NVOCC network and set up joint ventures in countries such as South Africa and Singapore. Allport has been a shareholder in CS Logistics since its inception.

The deal was for an undisclosed sum and the combined business will continue to operate under the two existing names. HSBC is also to become a financial partner of the group.

Hong-CS Logistics Holdings is the parent company of Cargo Services Far East, a logistics operator in Hong Kong and China. The company was founded in 1990 by John Lau, and has 28 offices in Hong Kong and mainland China and 4,200 staff.

Lau comments: ‘We have always worked closely together and now, with more than 5,500 personnel in 70 worldwide locations, we have the combined strengths to accelerate our growth on a global scale.’

Allport was founded by Will Toye and John Clayton, who will both retain a minority stake in the new venture. The company’s current group managing director and deputy group managing director, Derek Davis and Danny Toye, will move to non-executive roles and will be succeeded by Chris Cargill and Jerry Gray respectively. Founded in 1963, Allport operates in 19 countries, employs 1,000 personnel and moves freight by land, sea and air. In 2009, the Middlesex-based company declared a turnover of around £219 million.