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Loss-making parcels carrier City Link is here to stay, according to its new management team. The integration of Target Express has been put on hold while the group concentrates on customer service. Petar Cvetkovic, appointed MD of City Link in February and formerly CEO of Target Express, tells MT: "The old board was very internally focused on integration and it was all about process.

"I stopped the integration in my second week - we're not interested in integration, we're interested in  getting it right for our customers and our people." Cvetkovic says the firm is focusing on now until the year-end and making sure "our customers have a damn good Christmas".

"We have to make sure the foundations are in place for us to have a much better year next year," he says. "We're going to lose millions and millions this year. We need to get the bad year out of the way so we can get back on a sustainable track next year."

Last month, City Link revealed an operating loss of £29.4m in the half-year to 30 June. Sales and marketing director Stuart Godman (also ex-Target) adds that the focus is on "service, service, service". He says: "If our customers are happy with us, then it gives us the time to go out and fix the other things."

An aggressive programme of network improvement is also on the cards, says Cvetkovic. "We've got a plan to acquire, renew, replace or extend 16 depot locations in the next 18 months. We're increasing the square footage of this business,  not decreasing. It'll be a double-digit percentage increase."

In reference to rumours of the group's collapse last week, Godman says: "Customers know the real story. We're here and we're here to stay."

Cvetkovic concludes: "This is a three- to five-year plan: that's what we've told the City. There's no slash and burn. We're building rock-solid foundations. We will have market-leading service, profit and cash performance in the years to come."