Panic Link fails after GeoPost takes over
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• UK parcels delivery firm Panic Link has gone into receivership just months after being taken over by the French postal giant GeoPost. Parcels firms Interlink and Parceline are also owned by GeoPost.
Panic Link—which trades as Chronopost International—has made nearly 200 of its staff redundant with more almost certain to follow as its 60 fran
chisees struggle to make a profit.
KPMG, the administrative receivers for the Lount, Leicsbased firm, say it had battled against a "fiercely competitive" parcel delivery market over the past two to three years.
The company was not expected to enlarge its capacity enough to establish profitability in the near future.
Panic Link franchisees say they feel let down: 'We were assured by the parent company that all three companies would continue to run independently and operate in their own niche markets," says Tim Hinchliffe, who ran the Chronopost franchise in Sheffield. "The company's solicitor even assured us that our franchise agreements were worth something."
John Reid, who had the fran
chise in Cramlington, County Durham, says: 'I'm disgusted with this. I've worked for two years because of promises that we had nothing to worry about."
• The Communication Workers Union has voted to oppose any attempts to privatise Consignia's sorting and delivery operations following rumours that UPS or Siemens might take on some of its postal deliveries.