Seems as if its made quite a few part with their cash hoping to make a profit when/if they sell the shares.

Lots of nice prime site buildings and land to sell off,

Lots of cash for who ever is handling the sale, and the stocckbrokers who will buy and sell the shares.

Porer service as staff numbers are culled, hours reduced etc.

Lots of red one owner vans for sale,

A huge bribe for the guilable to vote for the failing conservative party,

so are there any benefits to Joe and Mercedes Chav.

you missed who is picking up the pension plan.

I thought we were (the taxpayer)?

I thought we were (the taxpayer)?

exactly, flog all the good bits and keep the bad bits!

exactly, flog all the good bits and keep the bad bits!

I don’t think anyone would have touched it with a barge pole if they hand’t split off the pension….

Now you’re getting somewhere. It’s just like every other privatisation sell off. A select few will make lots of money at the expense of future poorer service, higher prices all for the benefit of shareholders. Profit is good!! Greed is good!!!!!

whats the point

To nationalise the costs, privatise the profits and deliver a reduced service to the customer.

An odd “bribe” when it’s all done, dusted and forgotten about come the next election.

Now Ed Millibot’s freeze power prices thang. That’s a bribe 😉

As above biggest con job since Jo Burts mint sauce trinkets 🙂
Staff are well peeved off and morale @ an all time low we will be on the gates to protect out t&c in the coming weeks 🙁

Staff are well peeved off and morale @ an all time low

Surely that’s been their modus operandi for the last 20 odd years?

Does seem odd that the Gov’t committed to giving around 70% to institutions, reckon people will just end up annoyed with their small allocation – everyone who applied for up to £10k gets £750, the rest get none.

Surely that’s been their modus operandi for the last 20 odd years?

That would have been about the time the Government made the RM deliver letters sorted by private companies for less than cost. It is pretty much from that point that RM has been deliberately run into the ground in order to completely privatise the market.

The pension liabilities pale into insignificance compared to overall costs and cash the government (i.e. us) would have had to pump into the RM to maintain its competitiveness. Getting rid now, even though its cost us, in the long term is unburdening us and de-risking us. Governments don’t run companies very well.

Its all about tackling the structural deficit such that the government balances outgoings with income. Pretty fundamental and basic concept.

With limited and finite income (a concept lost on the last government) would we prefer to maximise funding to the NHS, Police and other more fundamental and essential services??

to maintain its competitiveness

As I mentioned above, the RM has been forced to be deliberately uncompetitive by “free market” dogmatists (that’s the tories and nu labour)

IPO always attract instant over subscription … then doom … 😆

i m missing something i think… you own something that is struggling to be competative in the modern market place yet at the right price there is a lot of demand for a half share in that business.. so do you free it up competatively and pocket the best part of two billion smakers or do you insist that it must remain embedded in the 1950’s..

the sooner the RM is freed of the shackles of management by govt and alowed to compete on a level playing field the better for all. the guaranteed daily delivery where ever you live is outdated.. move on move forward..

MSP, what government of any colour is going to announce huge investments in the RM while at the same time struggling to tackle issues in the NHS and all the other social problems this country is facing. None. That’s the problem. It was the problem with the railways, electricity board, British Telecom.

In privatising the RM the government is basically cutting its losses and running. The RM now has half a chance to raise the investments it needs to survive, let alone compete, in the global, intensely competitive industry its in, which is massively dominated by a very small handful of giants. My guess is that it is only a matter of time till its bought out by one of the bigger companies.

A company like Fed EX invests Billions of dollars every year just to maintain its competitiveness. How could a nationalised RM even hope to attract that level of investment and more, that is required to grow and be secure?? The Taxpayer certainly can’t afford it.

bit gutted that applying for over £10k worth will be rejected… 🙁

I use DHL cos they pick up from my house (included in the cost.) Also DHL size limits are larger.
I look forward to see if a private Royal Mail offers a better service or not. I certainly expect more choice than I have at the moment.

What’s the point…wind up the left, seems to be working.

MSP, what government of any colour is going to announce huge investments in the RM while at the same time struggling to tackle issues in the NHS

They didn’t need to announce investment, just free them from delivering at less than cost.

They weren’t burdened by “government management” but by biased regulation which favoured private enterprise at RM’s (and the taxpayers) cost.

Just got an email saying my order is cancelled, I think I did something like £15-18k, I can’t remember. GF did £8k so may get some. I’m not really bothered either way. Loads more stuff going on. 🙂

Anglo Asian mining is about to release news on its resource update following 29,000m of drilling if you have a hole burning in your pocket. Prob a better bet than the Royal Mail, 2 positive rns’s this week already.

Just saying like

the Gov’t committed to giving around 70% to institutions

wot, their mates? no waaay!

I’ve been out of the loop with the RM sale, what with being off in the colonies but everything I hear about it really stinks.

My thoughts are with the employees who are going to get (more) shafted (again) over the coming months and years. 🙁

Jon Taylor – Member – Quote
the Gov’t committed to giving around 70% to institutions
wot, their mates? no waaay!

Or mostly to pension funds, you know the ones that a lot of people in the UK have their retirement invested in.

Opening price 456p, so who has made a quick profit?

Sold the GF’s £750 for £4.45225 a share, just missed the slightly higher % on a price refresh!

In privatising the RM the government is basically cutting its losses and running.

RM makes a profit. And I note that the government has significantly undervalued it.

It was the problem with the railways, electricity board, British Telecom.

It’s worth reflecting that swathes of our nationalised industries were state-owned because they were failed private industries. Certainly the case with the railways post WW2, and it happened again with Railtrack in the 1990s.

In privatising the RM the government is basically cutting its losses and running. The RM now has half a chance to raise the investments it needs to survive, let alone compete, in the global, intensely competitive industry its in, which is massively dominated by a very small handful of giants. My guess is that it is only a matter of time till its bought out by one of the bigger companies.

RM was profitable. Think they made 400 million pounds last year. That’s money that could have gone into the public purse that now won’t. Given that they have significantly undervalued the RM – how can this possibly be a good thing unless you are a fanatical free-market ideologue?

shares made £120m for instituional investors during my commute this morning. when the plebs are allowed to start trading the ar5e will fall out of it

when the plebs are allowed to start trading the ar5e will fall out of it

The plebs can trade.

RM was profitable. Think they made 400 million pounds last year.

Only after jacking their prices over the last couple of years on both post (60p for a first class stamp anyone!) and parcels – and in the process watching their parcel business go from being competitive to ridiculous (cf. constant threads on here about interlink, did, myhermes, collect+ etc.)

Thing that everyone needs to remember is that the UK government never had a say in privatisation, liberalisation of the postal market and introduction of competition is happening all over the EU, because EU regulations overrule domestic politics.

As for the shares – I was going to go for a quick sell, but since its only 750 quid, I think I might hang it out and see what happens longer term…

In privatising the RM the government is basically cutting its losses and running.

So people were queuing up to buy shares in a loss making enterprise ?

The government must be pissing themselves.

Think they made 400 million pounds last year. That’s money that could have gone into the public purse that now won’t.

That’s why nationalised business don’t work, you are stripping out profits that should be used for investment to waste it on the NHS, MOD, etc. where it would hardly be noticed.

Also now hopefully the Post Office can get rid of the inefficiencies caused by having 1st and 2nd Class post.

That’s why nationalised business don’t work

So how has the Royal Mail managed for the last 500 years then ?

And I note that the government has significantly undervalued it.

An interesting point made on the Today Programme was that the government could be seen to be wetting the public’s appetite for (ex-)public share ownership in view to selling off the stake in RBS etc. …

Cheers,
Jamie

So how has the Royal Mail managed for the last 500 years then ?

Well it’s finding dealing with competition difficult now. It has a lot better chance of doing well now that it has more freedom but employees may find they have to put up with a tougher life; the unions will do their best to fight these changes of course.

Well it’s finding dealing with competition difficult now

Is that why it only doubled its profits to £400 million last year ?

Let’s hope now that it’s been privatised that it will treble its profits next year, I’m sure RM customers will be most pleased if they do.

That’s why nationalised business don’t work, you are stripping out profits that should be used for investment to waste it on the NHS, MOD, etc. where it would hardly be noticed.

The profits won’t go on investment. They will come begging to the government for investment, just like the privatised rail companies do now.

So how has the Royal Mail managed for the last 500 years then ?

Maybe you should read up on the history of the royal mail prior to the Rowland Hill reforms instead of cherry picking the victorian golden era 😉