Among the first industrial tests facing an incoming Labour administration is what to do about the Royal Mail. The owner of Britain’s postal system, International Distributions Services (IDS) is proposing to sell a vital part of UK infrastructure to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky and a controversial Slovakian finance group, supported …
Read More »Debt-fuelled Royal Mail deal puts a vital public service at risk, says ALEX BRUMMER
By Alex Brummer for the Daily Mail Updated: 17:02 EDT, 27 June 2024 There are many reasons for opposing the ‘Czech Sphinx’ bid for International Distributions Services (IDS), the owner of the Royal Mail. These include the public interest, fragile knowledge of the would-be buyers Daniel Kretinsky and partners, workforce …
Read More »There is nothing to like about Daniel Kretinsky’s shabby offer for Royal Mail, says ALEX BRUMMER
The business of government stops during general election campaigns, with Whitehall and quangos going into purdah. This has provided City bankers and advisers with an opportunity to press ahead with bids and deals under the radar. There is no more important transaction at present than the proposed takeover of International …
Read More »Seagulls are terrorising the UK – and nobody dares stop them
Dear readers, to those who have quite rightly concluded in this silliest of silly seasons that the country is going to the dogs, apologies. It is time for a new metaphor of decline; Britain is for the birds. And I’m not even referring to Swiftmania; if only our ills really …
Read More »ALEX BRUMMER: London risks its fizz over Britvic
By Alex Brummer for the Daily Mail Updated: 16:51 EDT, 21 June 2024 Britvic has long appeared an anachronism. Down at the Druids Head in Brighton, for as long as I can remember, it sold orange juice in the smallest bottles for the highest prices. One often mused as to …
Read More »Hargreaves Lansdown sells its soul bowing to private equity funny money, says ALEX BRUMMER
By Alex Brummer for the Daily Mail Updated: 17:27 EDT, 18 June 2024 When you push on the door firmly enough, it eventually caves in. The private equity consortium stalking investor platform Hargreaves Lansdown has come up with a bid price of £5.4billion, or £11.40 a share, which the board, …
Read More »Royal Mail’s ‘nodding dog’ board has put our postal service at risk, says ALEX BRUMMER
By Alex Brummer for the Daily Mail Updated: 17:01 EDT, 17 June 2024 Labour’s first major corporate challenge, if and when it takes office, is what to do about the Royal Mail. Other industrial hot potatoes, such as the future of Tata-owned Port Talbot and Thames Water, also lie in …
Read More »Demarche for Czech Sphinx as the political silence is finally broken, says ALEX BRUMMER
By Alex Brummer for the Daily Mail Updated: 17:18 EDT, 13 June 2024 At last, the political silence has been broken. Labour’s manifesto promises that the proposed £3.6billion takeover of the Royal Mail by ‘Czech Sphinx’ Daniel Kretinsky and lesser-known business associates will be properly scrutinised. Someone has been listening …
Read More »Tories play tax cut card: But can Britain afford Sunak and Hunt’s giveaways? asks ALEX BRUMMER
By Alex Brummer for the Daily Mail Updated: 17:01 EDT, 11 June 2024 These days, party manifestos come with costings. After Liz Truss’s unfunded tax cuts in the autumn of 2022, no one wants to upset the bond markets. The Tory desire is to reduce the tax burden. The paradox …
Read More »This is Royal Mail’s last chance, says posties’ trade union boss DAVE WARD
Privatisation of Royal Mail is one of the biggest scandals of recent times The obvious and right answer is to renationalise Royal Mail But a Tory or a Labour government are unwilling to contemplate this By Dave Ward Updated: 16:55 EDT, 9 June 2024 Perhaps it seems highly unusual for …
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