Royal Mail investors to meet union bosses

Royal Mail investors will meet with trade union bosses next week to try to negotiate an end to the bitter industrial dispute that has paralysed the business. 

The Mail understands that on Monday afternoon several major shareholders in Royal Mail’s parent company International Distributions Services (IDS) will meet in London with Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), to try to hash out a solution.

Topics on the agenda will include alternative ways of running the business as well as growing the firm in new sectors and addressing shareholder worries over the union’s demands. 

One person who will not be at the meeting is Royal Mail boss Simon Thompson, who was castigated by MPs on the business committee earlier this week where chairman Darren Jones said his answers raised ‘grave concerns’ over the running of the group.

Another matter looming over the talks will be Thompson’s future as chief executive. It follows a chaotic few months for Royal Mail as strikes crippled the company over the crucial Christmas period and a Russian cyber-attack knocked out its overseas delivery operations. 

It is not yet known exactly which IDS shareholders will be at the meeting with Ward, but it is understood that several major investors who initially opposed the CWU are now trying to engage with the union after Thompson’s lacklustre committee appearance on Monday.

One notable absence will be Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire and IDS’s largest shareholder, who owns just over 23 per cent of the business through his vehicle Vesa Equity. Kretinsky, dubbed the Czech Sphinx for his inscrutable approach to investing, is thought to still be supporting Thompson, with rumours he could be advising the embattled chief executive to resolve the crises facing the business. 

But the prospect of Thompson being ousted has sparked speculation around his possible replacement. 

Martin Seidenberg, the head of IDS’s more successful international delivery arm GLS, is thought to be a viable candidate, while there is also speculation that Thompson’s predecessor Rico Back could make a return to the top job. Back waded into the row at Royal Mail earlier this month, criticising the company’s board for its ‘confrontational’ approach to the strikes. 

Shareholder concerns have steadily mounted as Royal Mail’s losses ballooned following the disruption, with market analysts pencilling in a loss of nearly £750m for the year to the end of March. 

That represents more than £2m per day and follows a £416m profit last year. 

So large are Royal Mail’s projected losses that it would push IDS to a £290m loss for the year from a £662m profit in 2022. 

The eye-watering sum also stands in stark contrast to GLS, which is predicted to rake in a profit this year of £317m.

IDS shares rose 3.4 per cent to 221.3p yesterday.