Postplan plans PO blitz
Page 19
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
I A small London-based parels carrier is planning a £25 nillion expansion throughout he UK this summer in a bid to :stablish a platform from which o break the Post Office's leters monopoly.
Postplan claims it can offer a :ompetitive service to the Post )ffice — even in rural areas — tnd it hopes to persuade MPs A) end the corporation's pro:ected position, which makes it llegal for an independent carier to charge less than for the delivery of letters.
Postplan is reluctant to disclose any details of the proposed expansion: general manager Lee Myers would only say that the company will announce "something big" this June. It is understood that it aims to raise £25 million from the City, and plans to take on 6,000 staff.
TNT and other carriers have made no secret of their wish to destroy the Post Office monopoly. The Post Office has replied to this latest threat by claiming that it offers uniform postal prices thoughout the UK, without taxpayers' subsidy, delivering to 23 million addresses at a uniform price. "Without a monopoly these advantages would be threatened," it says.
Postplan currently operates only in the south-east of England and its service is geared to businessmen. It issues its own stamps, and charges 50p to deliver same-day parcels weighing up to 500g.