Royal Mail is pressuring regulators to approve plans for less frequent letter deliveries, as the company scrambles to fend off a £3.1bn takeover bid from a Czech billionaire. International Distributions Services (IDS), Royal Mail’s parent company, said foot-dragging by Ofcom had “held back” plans to modernise the company. Keith Williams, …
Read More »Queen jokes about Royal Lancers’ capacity for drinking beer
The Queen joked about members of her late father’s regiment’s capacity to drink beer during her first visit to their barracks since she was appointed as colonel-in-chief. The Royal Lancers carry a significant connection for Queen Camilla, 76, as her father Major Bruce Shand served with the 12th Lancers during …
Read More »Apple ‘scraps vegan iPhone cases’ after backlash
Apple has reportedly suspended production of vegan phone cases it started selling less than a year ago. The tech giant is said to have stopped making its FineWoven cases and watch straps following complaints that the £59 cases would become easily scratched and worn out. Apple introduced the material, a …
Read More »Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky ‘very serious’ about bid for Royal Mail
Bosses are understood to be keen to emphasise that the postal service is at an inflection point as it pushes through a turnaround plan for its struggling letters business. Insiders pointed to the company’s strongest Christmas performance in four years, as well as an ongoing review by Ofcom into its …
Read More »Royal Mail ‘uses Google to check stamps’, claim whistleblowers
One whistleblower said they dealt with surcharges “on a case by case basis” and said colleagues would often not charge customers and let them have the post without paying the “silly” £5 fine. They added they had sympathy for revenue protection staff who they claim are “misidentifying” stamps because Royal …
Read More »How Russian gas is fuelling a bid for Royal Mail
The 48-year-old has cited his time growing up during the Velvet Revolution, as the overhaul of Czechoslovakia’s communist government is known, as a driving force behind his love of free markets. Kretinsky trained as a lawyer before joining Slovakian investment group J&T in 1999, where he made his name as …
Read More »Royal Mail suitor should face fit and proper person test
While Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last night declined to comment directly on the takeover bid, he signalled that the Government would revisit how “former public sector monopolies” are regulated to safeguard the provision of vital services. However, the Labour Party has signalled it is open to Mr Křetínský’s approach. A spokesman …
Read More »‘Royal Mail delivered my son’s birthday card eight years late – then fined me’
More recently Royal Mail has become embroiled in a row after a Telegraph investigation revealed that China had flooded Britain with counterfeit stamps, landing victims with £5 penalties. Senior MPs have since called on the postal service to stop the “unfair fines” while it investigates issues with new barcoded stamps, …
Read More »How Royal Mail’s letters crisis left it vulnerable to the Czech Sphinx
Costs have not fallen alongside the lower volumes. Royal Mail has blamed the restrictive framework for its hefty losses of £319m in the first half of the year, as well as for a slump in service quality that sparked a record £5.6m fine from Ofcom. Earlier this month, Royal Mail …
Read More »Royal Mail faces takeover bid from Czech billionaire
His ownership of significant stakes in Royal Mail and Sainsbury’s has forced him to be more open and, in his first British interview last year, he pledged to keep Royal Mail listed on the stock market, saying it was good if “every British citizen can invest in the shares”. Royal …
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