Business Post Plans Faster Letter Delivery

Business Post, the parcels and postal delivery group, is to launch a letters service in the summer that will guarantee next-day delivery anywhere in the UK.

Customers will send letters over the internet to UK Mail, a Business Post subsidiary, which will print them in color at depots close to the destinations. The company will then put the letters in envelopes and hand them over to Royal Mail for delivery over “the final mile”.

The iMail service could reduce the carbon footprint of a letter by up to 80 per cent, Business Post said. It will also appeal to big corporate users that are keen to reduce emissions produced by their businesses.

“It will also allow us to offer our service to consumers and small businesses whose mailing requirements are too small for our existing services”, said Guy Buswell, chief executive.

UK Mail has doubled its share of the British postal market for the second year running. It collects and sorts about 11 per cent of mail before passing it on to Royal Mail for delivery to homes and businesses around the country.