The greetings card industry has raised the alarm over Royal Mail’s proposed £3.5bn foreign takeover.
Small business operators are calling for a “national, reliable and affordable” service to be protected as fears grow over the future of the 508-year-old company.
Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services said last week it was “willing” to back a £3.5bn bid from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.
The businessman, known as the Czech Sphinx, has until Wednesday next week to submit a formal offer that would pave the way for the company to fall into foreign hands for the first time since it was founded by Henry VIII in 1516.
But the Greeting Card Association, which represents more than 500 companies, is calling on ministers and regulators to protect the service.
Concerns: Small business operators demand ‘national, reliable and affordable’ service be protected as fears grow over Royal Mail’s future
They are concerned that Kretinsky will press ahead with his plans to reduce the frequency of second-class deliveries and increase the price of first-class stamps.
The group also wants to prevent package delivery from being prioritized over letters and cards and avoid mass post office closures.
Cards are the most common means of postal delivery: one in four Britons use the postal service alone to send them.
GCA chief executive Amanda Fergusson said: ‘Our members and the customers they serve expect a postal service that is national, reliable and affordable.
They are already nervous that planned regulatory reform will ignore these basic needs, and now they fear a deal with new owners that will do nothing to prevent further reductions in the quality of delivery services.
“Whoever owns Royal Mail must be held to account.”
Under its current owners, Royal Mail has urged regulators to allow it to reduce its second-class six-day delivery service to every other day.
His boss has said this would give him a “fighting chance” to improve standards and help him save £300m.
But it could also lead to the loss of almost 1,000 jobs.
Last month, the cost of a standard first-class letter rose 8 per cent to £1.35, while a second-class stamp now costs 85p – the same price as a first-class stamp in early 2022.
Royal Mail was privatized in 2013, but the last few years have been difficult as its share price has plummeted.
IDS, which also has a profitable parcel business in Europe, will publish its annual results tomorrow which are expected to expose its terrible performance, with Royal Mail losing almost a million pounds a day.
Kretinsky has been warned he must pass national security tests and meet union demands to prevent his £3.5bn takeover plans from being ruined.
It already owns a 27.5 per cent stake in IDS, as well as stakes in football club West Ham and supermarket Sainsbury’s.
