Royal Mail is to be privatised or sold. That’s
the conclusion following the publication of a new report that
found that despite “important steps forward on
modernisation, Royal Mail still lags well behind the leading
postal operators”.
Commenting on the report, business secretary Vince Cable said
“Royal Mail is facing a combination of potentially lethal
challenges–falling mail volumes, low investment, not enough
efficiency and a dire pension position. We will come forward with
new legislation in the autumn.”
The Communication Workers Union has condemned the plans to
privatise Royal Mail and says it “vows to fight the
politically motivated move by all means”.
In related news, the Daily Mail reports that 2,000 Royal Mail
middle managers will be made redundant as the company
“simplifies its chain of command”.
Sales at apparel cataloguer Boden rose by 20.1
percent in the year ended December 2009, to £201.9 million.
Pretax profit also grew, up 15.9 percent to £28.7 million.
Further, in the first half of 2010, Boden’s sales rose by 15
percent compared with the same period last year. Much of the rise
has been attributed to Boden’s success in Germany, where sales
more than doubled to £16.7 million in the 12 months ending
in December.
According to the Sunday Times and Press Association, mobile
phone retailer Phones4U has received several
takeover approaches for the business, with
Dixons tipped as a potential buyer.
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