Rival to Royal Mail stamp starts trials

The sedate world of philately was jolted yesterday by the arrival of a competitor to the Royal Mail stamp.

DX Services, Britain’s longest established private mail business, is to start trials next month of a new blue and white stamp for business mail in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

If successful, the stamp, believed to be the first official competitor to the Royal Mail stamp, will be made available throughout the UK later this year. DX Services, a FTSE 250 company whose clients include Clifford Chance, Linklaters and several major banks and insurance companies, said that the stamp would be the same price as a Royal Mail first-class stamp.

Its unique selling point will be the guarantee to deliver mail before the start of the next working day.

Michael-John Saunders, financial director of DX Services, said that the 28p price tag would also apply to any mail that could go through the letter box -not just letters.

The corporate mail market is worth Pounds 700 million a year. DX has a 13 per cent market share.