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Czech Billionaire Daniel Kretinsky today had his firm EP Group’s £3.57billion bid to take over Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services approved by the board.
NIcknamed the ‘Czech Sphinx’ for his inscrutable nature, his purchase of IDS – which may yet be subject to government scrutiny – could take the UK’s 500-year-old postal service into fully foreign ownership for the first time.
Mr Kretinsky, 48, and his 27-year-old girlfriend Anna Kellnerova, an heiress and champion showjumper, are one of the world’s richest couples.
Kellnerova is one of four children of Petr Kellner, who was the Czech Republic’s richest man until he died in a helicopter crash in Alaska in 2021, aged 56.
Showing the substantial age gap between her and Mr Kretinsky, Ms Kellnerova attended university in Prague at the same time as her boyfriend’s son.
Mr Kretinsky (pictured) already owned more than a quarter of IDS, and has stakes in several other British firms and sports teams
Anna Kellnerova (pictured here in 2018) is an accomplished showjumper – but she went to university at the same time as Kretinsky’s son, highlighting their age difference
‘Czech Sphinx’ Daniel Kretinsky, 48, (middle) with his girlfriend, 27-year-old showjumper Anna Kellnerova. They are seen together at a Sparta Prague game
Royal Mail parent company International Distribution Services says it has agreed a £3.57bn takeover by Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky
Ms Kellnerova – nicknamed Anicka – broke her femur in May 2019 after falling from her horse keeping her out of action in the equestrian scene until December, and is still competing in and winning major competitions.
Her motto, according to the Fédération Equestre Internationale, is: ‘A horse must have the desire to fight in jumping. Although it may be more difficult to ride and jump, when I know he will fight to get over those huge obstacles, it gives me confidence and I fight with him. The desire to work and learn is also important and I am also looking for an overall positive character.’
In 2015, Mr Kretinsky bought 15-bedroom mansion Heath Hall in Hampstead – dubbed London’s ‘Billionaires’ Row’ – for £65million.
In 2016, pop star Justin Bieber rented out the property for a staggering £27,000-a-week during a British tour.
The mansion was built for sugar magnate William Park Lyle of the Tate & Lyle family in 1910. The Grade II-listed Edwardian ‘super mansion’ is 25 times the size of an average new build and one of the capital’s largest homes with 25,000sq ft of accommodation set in 2.5 acres of gardens.
Along with its 15 double bedrooms, there are 13 bathrooms and six dressing rooms.
Kellnerova during the Longines Global Champions Tour, Paris Eiffel Jumping at Champs de Mars on June 24, 2023 in Paris
Kellnerova competing in a showjumping qualifying event in Tokyo, Japan in August 2021
Anna Kellnerova competes at Circo Massimo in Rome on September 10, 2021
Anna Kellnerova of Czech Republic and horse Balguero during the ‘CSI 5’ 1.45m jumping competition on the second day of Longines Global Champion Tour on June 15, 2018 in Cascais, Portugal
Anna Kellnerova at the Longines Global Champions Playoffs 2018 in Prague, Czech Republic
There’s an indoor pool, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi as well as a fully-fitted gym, a cinema complex, along with a bar and a 600-bottle with climate controlled temperature. There’s also a snooker room, office, library and sun room.
All entertaining and leisure facilities are arranged on the ground floor of the three storey mansion.
The property fell into disrepair after the Bank of China took it over in the 1950s. Around 50 members of staff lived there at one time.
It was bought in 2006 by British property developer Andreas Panayiotou, who employed a team of 120 tradesmen to carry out a lavish renovation costing £40 million.
Hand-carved marble basins were prepared in Italy before being transported to the property while a £250,000 bath made of pure onyx was installed in one of the bathrooms – requiring the floor be especially reinforced.
Panayiotou put it on the market with the £100 million price tag but was forced to repeatedly slash the price before it was eventually sold three years later at a knockdown £25 million.
It was thought to have been extensively refurbished as the property – which was also rented in 2017 by actress Salma Hayek – was sold.
Mr Kretinsky is an entrepreneur and lawyer with a net worth of £6 billion, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
He built his fortune in the energy industry, and has assets spanning the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, the Netherlands and the UK.
They include Eustream, which moves Russian gas via pipelines running through Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In 2015, he bought 15-bedroom Heath Hall in Hampstead for £65million, and once rented out to Justin Bieber for £27,000 a week during a British tour
The luxury pad was built for sugar magnate William Park Lyle of the Tate & Lyle family in 1910
Mr Kretinsky is not immune to the trappings of the modern billionaire, and owns several football clubs including Sparta Prague, his boyhood club, and a 27% stake in West Ham United.
He has also built up holdings in several well-known British brands, including a 10% stake in supermarket giant Sainsbury’s and sportswear retailer Footlocker.
Mr Kretinsky has a 25% stake in an exclusive private island resort in the Maldives, called Velaa.
Mr Kretinsky, who is already a 27% shareholder in Royal Mail’s parent company, most recently upped his stake in 2022 leading to ministers saying they would launch a national security probe into the company, but eventually cleared the stake holding.
Mr Kretinsky said in a statement on Wednesday that his company has ‘decades of experience in owning critical national infrastructure’ and that IDS could ‘become one of the largest postal logistics groups in Europe’.
The offer would see EP Group buy IDS for 370p per share, while offering a series of ‘contractual commitments and intentions’ to protect public service aspects of the Royal Mail.
IDS said if the deal goes through Royal Mail would continue its universal service obligation to one-price-goes-anywhere first-class post six days a week, and keep the company’s branding and UK headquarters.
It also said it would protect existing employment rights of all IDS staff, and that there is ‘no intention to make any material changes to overall headcount or reductions in the number of frontline workers’ beyond existing plans.
IDS chairman Keith Williams said both parties ‘are acutely aware of their responsibilities to IDS and particularly to the unique heritage of Royal Mail and its obligations as the designated universal service provider of postal services in the UK’.
‘The IDS board has negotiated a far-reaching package of legally binding undertakings and commitments which provide our customers, employees and broader stakeholders with important safeguards.’
Kretinsky owns a 27 per cent stake in West Ham. He is seen celebrating after the team won their UEFA Europa Conference League final football match against Fiorentina in June 2023
Mr Kretinsky, who is already a 27% shareholder in IDS, is said to be known as the ‘Czech Sphinx’ and has a raft of other investments, including stakes in London football club West Ham United and supermarket giant Sainsbury’s
The potential sale has already attracted heavy scrutiny, with senior politicians and unions voicing concerns over the future of the postal service, which was privatised in 2013.
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch met IDS bosses earlier this month for talks on the deal, and underlined the need to protect services for the vulnerable, those in remote areas and small businesses.
Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said on Wednesday: ‘Royal Mail is an iconic British institution with a unique place in our society and infrastructure. Labour will take the necessary steps to safeguard its undeniable identity and place in public life.
‘These assurances are welcome that Royal Mail will retain its British identity and safeguard its workforce with no compulsory redundancies.’
Mr Kretinsky, who is already a 27% shareholder in IDS, is said to be known as the ‘Czech Sphinx’ and has a raft of other investments, including stakes in London football club West Ham United and supermarket giant Sainsbury’s.
He said Royal Mail is ‘part of the fabric of UK society and has been for hundreds of years’.
‘The EP Group has the utmost respect for Royal Mail’s history and tradition, and I know that owning this business will come with enormous responsibility – not just to the employees but to the citizens who rely on its services every day.’
The bid comes at a crucial time for Royal Mail, which put forward plans to regulator Ofcom earlier this month to scrap second-class letter deliveries on Saturdays and cut the service to every other weekday as part of turnaround efforts.
Meanwhile, Ofcom launched an investigation into Royal Mail last week, after it said it delivered less than three-quarters of first-class post on time in the last year.
Communication Workers Union general secretary Dave Ward said on Wednesday: ‘We do welcome some of the commitments that have been made but the reality is postal workers across the UK have lost all faith in the senior management of Royal Mail and the service has been deliberately run down.
‘We will meet with EP Group next week and call for a complete reset in employee and industrial relations, the restoration of postal services and further commitments on the future of the company.
‘We will also be directly engaging with the Labour Party and other stakeholders to call for a new model of ownership for Royal Mail where our members and customers have a direct say in key decisions and the creation of a golden share which will protect a key part of the UK’s communications infrastructure.’
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