30th Apr 2015 14:19
LONDON (Alliance News) - PostNL Thursday said that it is exploring alternative scenarios for its Whistl UK business, after Lloyds Banking Group PLC's private equity arm LDC told the Dutch postal operator it wouldn't be proceeding talks about a possible investment in Whistl to fund a further rollout of its end-to-end activities.
In a statement, PostNL said LDC has told it that it wasn't going to proceed with talks due to the ongoing changes in postal market dynamics and the complexity of the regulatory landscape.
"Now that these discussions have concluded, we will assess alternative scenarios for Whistl?s E2E operations and remain committed to further developing Whistl?s successful activities in the UK. In the meantime, the roll-out of E2E continues to be on hold," PostNL.
The news is a positive for Royal Mail Group PLC as the expansion of Whistl's services would have further challenged its position as the biggest mail operator in the UK. Currently Whistl collects and sorts mail, but then uses Royal Mail to deliver its mail to final addresses. The expansion plan was aimed at giving Whistl its own last-mile delivery team. PostNL's Whistl had trialed the expansion in London and said that proved a success.
Royal Mail shares are up 5.3% at 467.50 pence Thursday afternoon, the best-performing stock in the FTSE 100.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @stevemcgrath1
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