Tag: UK

Red letter day for UK postal services

Posted by | Jan 8, 2006 | |

You shouldn’t expect rival posties scrapping on your doorstep, a choice of different companies’ stamps or new post boxes springing up next to the Royal Mail’s signature red pillar boxes. But on new years’ day, the UK brought the last great government-owned monopoly, that on post, to an end, liberalising a market worth GBP6.5bn (USD11.4bn, E9.14bn). Any company can collect, sort and deliver letters of any size.

It’s hard to understand why it took so long. As far back as 1970, before Margaret Thatcher had put it on the political radar, the Institute of Economic Affairs published a monograph – The Postal Service: Competition or Monopoly – arguing that the Royal Mail’s then 320-year monopoly be scrapped. But the writer, Ian Senior, a postal economist who runs Triangle Management Services, has had to wait his whole career for it to happen.

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Royal Mail in race to appeal GBP50m ruling

Posted by | Jan 6, 2006 | |

Royal Mail has three weeks to appeal against a High Court judgment which found it be in breach of its own compensation scheme, or it will be forced to pay more than GBP50m to disgruntled bulk mailers. Industry watchdog Postwatch brought a judicial review against industry regulator Postcomm when Royal Mail withheld around GBP40m-worth of compensation from companies after failing all 15 of its minimum service targets in 2003 and 2004. Bulk mail customers should have automatically received compensation totalling GBP80m, but Royal Mail used late invoice payments as a reason to withhold 50 per cent of that. A Royal Mail spokesman says: “We will be carefully studying the full written judgment. But we expect to ask for leave to appeal against the ruling. It is too early to say what impact the ruling will have on our business with bulk mail customers.”

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Bid talk delivers Business Post rise

Posted by | Jan 6, 2006 | |

Troubled parcel delivery company Business Post soared 7.5 per cent, the biggest riser in the FTSE 250 yesterday on speculation of a takeover approach. The founding Kane brothers, Michael and Peter, own 52 per cent between them and there are rumours that a global operator such as Holland’s TNT has approached them about buying their stake. Such a move would force a bid for the whole company, which after yesterday’s rise of 25 dp to 368p has a market value of GBP200million. Other predators could include UPS of the US and Deutsche Post, although the latter may have competition issues since it bought Britain’s Exel in October for GBP3.7 billion.

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DX Services plc – trading update

Posted by | Jan 6, 2006 | |

DX Services plc is providing a trading update in advance of entering its close period prior to the release of its interim results for the six months to 31 December 2005 which it expects to announce on 7 March 2006.

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Royal Mail rival warns on profits

Posted by | Jan 6, 2006 | |

One of the companies taking on Royal Mail in the newly-liberalised postal market issued a profits warning today after a slump at a key business. DX Services, which specialises in delivering time-critical documents for banks, estate agents and lawyers, said first half operating profits would be down 12% on a like-for-like basis on the previous year. Iver, Buckinghamshire-based DX said that a slowdown in the property market and operational changes in the financial sector had hit its core documents business which should report revenues of around GBP41 million in the last six months of 2005, down from GBP42.9 million in the same period in 2004.

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