Business Post Group wins mail licence
RNS Number:3749N Business Post Group PLC 20 November 2001
BUSINESS POST WINS MAIL LICENCE FROM UK POSTAL REGULATOR
Business Post, one of the UK's leading express parcel delivery companies, has
been awarded a licence to operate mail services for business customers from 1 April 2002. This is the first time since the inauguration of the Royal Mail over 360 years ago that a private sector company will collect mail from a broad range of customers. It is estimated that annual turnover in the UK postal market is around #6.5 billion.
The licence has been awarded to Business Post subsidiary, UK Mail, by
Postcomm, the independent regulator, for an initial one year trial period and will enable the company to collect mail from business customers in certain strategic UK locations – including Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, and the Thames Valley. UK Mail will sort and then transport the mail to the relevant local Royal Mail office in the UK, which will undertake the local sort and final delivery.
Full details of the service that UK Mail will offer its customers will be published closer to the launch date.
Commenting on the announcement Paul Carvell, CEO of Business Post, said: "The
UK business to business market, which includes direct mail activity, has increased by 11% this year, so we see this as a fantastic opportunity and indeed the response from our customers has been very positive. We already have an existing and proven national infrastructure in terms of vehicles, sites, IT systems and expertise and we already move in excess of 25 million items per year. Initially we will only be collecting from existing customers and therefore the incremental costs are negligible. In essence, this trial licence allows us to test our business proposition at relatively little up-front cost".
Peter Carr, The Chairman of Postwatch, the customer watchdog organisation,
said: "The initial licence will last for one year and is intended to allow UK Mail's customers to benefit from new postal services and for Postcomm to assess the effects while it develops its longer term licensing policy. UK Mail will be utilising Business Post's infrastructure with Consignia providing that 'last mile' delivery. The granting of this licence will have no effect on Consignia's continuing obligation to provide a universal postal service in the UK".
– Ends –
Notes for Editors
Business Post is one of the UK's leading express parcel delivery companies and
the largest not to be owned by a Post Office. It has a national sortation hub in Birmingham which links a network of over 60 depots (approximately two-thirds of them franchised), providing complete coverage of the UK.
Founded in 1971 and floated in 1993, Business Post has achieved strong organic
growth to a position where it now has an estimated 6% of the UK express parcel delivery market.
Over 90% of its revenues are generated from deliveries made within the UK,
with nearly 90% of these delivered next day. Operating primarily at the top end of the business-to-business market, Business Post's customer base exceeds 18,000.
Since September 2001, Business Post has been UK Global Service Participant of
FedEx, the world's leading express transportation delivery company.
Business Post benefits from IT systems which are at the forefront of the
industry. These facilitate the whole collection and delivery process, providing customers with a comprehensive range of methods, including the use of the internet for placing orders, tracking the movement of parcels throughout the delivery process and receiving notification of delivery.
Business Post proposes to announce its results for the half year ended 30
September 2001 on Thursday 29 November 2001.
Enquiries:
Business Post Group plc Paul Carvell (Chief Executive) 0121-335 1111 Peter Fitzwilliam (Finance Director) 01753-706070
Bankside Consultants Limited Charles Ponsonby (PR) 020-7444 4166 Chris Munden (IR) 020-7444 4150
