Latest news with #EPGroup
Times
30-06-2025
- Business
- Times
New Royal Mail owner tells workers: We need to be on the same ship
The Czech billionaire behind the £3.6 billion takeover of the owner of Royal Mail has called on workers to be 'on the same ship' for the 500-year-old business to succeed. In an internal memo to staff, coinciding with Royal Mail reaching an agreement with unions on pay at the weekend, Daniel Kretinsky said: 'We recognise the importance of working together with our trade unions to ensure a successful future for Royal Mail and a fresh start for our industrial relations.' Under its previous management, Royal Mail was weakened by a bitter industrial dispute that had featured 18 days of strikes over pay and conditions. The breakdown left workers 'disengaged' and the company, which has been expanding in parcels amid the long-term decline in letters, losing more than £1 million a day. EP Group, a conglomerate controlled by Kretinsky, completed an audacious 370p-a-share takeover of International Distribution Services (IDS) in May after agreeing undertakings with ministers, including issuing a so-called golden share to the government, as well as reaching an agreement with the Communication Workers Union, representing frontline Royal Mail workers. Following on from that agreement in December, union bosses told members on Sunday that a deal on pay had now been reached. 'If it is endorsed by the postal executive we will share the full details of the agreement as part of an extensive communications exercise ahead of a full members ballot,' Dave Ward, the general secretary, said. Ward has previously said 'the status quo is not tenable' and that the government's 'golden share' had given the union 'more confidence to go ahead with the agreement'. Kretinsky, who has invested fortunes raised from European energy assets in food, media, logistics and sports, including stakes in J Sainsbury and West Ham United football club, has installed himself as chairman, replacing Keith Williams, the former IDS chairman, who left the company in June. Emma Gilthorpe has been replaced as chief executive of Royal Mail by Alistair Cochrane, who has been promoted from his role as chief operating officer. Associates of Kretinsky have also been appointed to the board. Jiri Zrust, a fellow Czech who is a senior logistics executive at Trafigura, the commodities group, has been appointed as an independent non-executive director. Greg Hands, a former Conservative trade minister, has been appointed as a strategic adviser to EP Group, which is based in Prague. In his memo to staff, Kretinsky said he was committed to 'working jointly' with CWU and Unite, which 'underlines what I have said from the very beginning of this process: we all need to be 'on the same ship' because if Royal Mail succeeds, we will all benefit'. Kretinsky reiterated that EP Group were 'committed investors and partners and believe the pathway to success lies in taking a truly long-term view of the future'. 'Despite a very challenging market environment, the difficult financial situation for Royal Mail and ongoing uncertainty about desired universal service regulatory changes, we have offered CWU a three-year pay deal, with greater job security.' He said Royal Mail had 'strengths that no other company can match, such as our brand heritage and our beloved posties'. IDS also owns GLS, a more successful parcel business that operates across Europe and North America. Krestinsky is understood to be focused on expanding GLS.
Malay Mail
27-06-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky takes charge of Royal Mail after £3.6b takeover
LONDON, June 27 — Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has been named chairman of Britain's centuries-old Royal Mail following a takeover of its parent company, his firm EP Group announced on Friday. EP Group completed its £3.6-billion (RM20.9 billion) takeover of International Distribution Services (IDS) earlier this month, bringing the postal service under foreign ownership for the first time. Kretinsky will chair the boards of both Royal Mail and its parent company IDS, following the group's exit from London's stock exchange. The group has also issued a so-called golden share to the UK government, granting it veto power to ensure the postal operator's headquarters and tax residency remain the UK. Former state monopoly Royal Mail, which was privatised in 2013, has suffered in recent years from falling parcel volumes, delays in delivering mail and strikes over pay. Kretinsky agreed the deal to buy the postal operator in May last year. However, he only won government approval in December after making several commitments, notably maintaining the Universal Service Obligation to deliver mail six days a week to all 32 million UK addresses for the price of a stamp. The 49-year-old Czech businessman made his fortune in the energy sector before ramping up investments across various countries and sectors. He owns a stake in British supermarket Sainsbury's, Premier League club West Ham United and Elle magazine. — AFP
South Wales Guardian
27-06-2025
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
Czech billionaire Kretinsky named chairman of Royal Mail after takeover
Mr Kretinsky's EP Group said that, following the closure of the deal earlier this month, he would head up the board as chairman of both Royal Mail and its parent company International Distribution Services (IDS). Confirmation of the appointment came after IDS formally left the London Stock Exchange on June 2 after being taken over by Mr Kretinsky. In April, shareholders approved the £3.6 billion takeover deal, giving the more than 500-year-old company a foreign owner for the first time. Royal Mail's new owner also said on Friday that it had issued a £1 so-called golden share to the UK Government, as agreed under the deal. The golden share means the firm must keep Royal Mail's headquarters and tax residency in the UK. EP added that it has changed Royal Mail's articles of association to include the rights of the Government, and to set up an advisory committee in line with pledges made to trade unions the Communication Workers Union and Unite, as well as the Competition and Markets Authority. EP Group recently appointed former UK trade minister Greg Hands as a full-time strategic adviser. Mr Hands, who was minister for trade policy until last summer when he lost his seat in the House of Commons, will advise the business with a 'special focus on the UK and Germany'. Mr Kretinsky – dubbed the Czech Sphinx – agreed the deal to buy Royal Mail's owner in May last year, but it was not cleared until December after he made a raft of commitments over the future of the service and its workers. He was already the biggest shareholder in IDS, which also owned parcel business GLS, prior to the deal.
Rhyl Journal
27-06-2025
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
Czech billionaire Kretinsky named chairman of Royal Mail after takeover
Mr Kretinsky's EP Group said that, following the closure of the deal earlier this month, he would head up the board as chairman of both Royal Mail and its parent company International Distribution Services (IDS). Confirmation of the appointment came after IDS formally left the London Stock Exchange on June 2 after being taken over by Mr Kretinsky. In April, shareholders approved the £3.6 billion takeover deal, giving the more than 500-year-old company a foreign owner for the first time. Royal Mail's new owner also said on Friday that it had issued a £1 so-called golden share to the UK Government, as agreed under the deal. The golden share means the firm must keep Royal Mail's headquarters and tax residency in the UK. EP added that it has changed Royal Mail's articles of association to include the rights of the Government, and to set up an advisory committee in line with pledges made to trade unions the Communication Workers Union and Unite, as well as the Competition and Markets Authority. EP Group recently appointed former UK trade minister Greg Hands as a full-time strategic adviser. Mr Hands, who was minister for trade policy until last summer when he lost his seat in the House of Commons, will advise the business with a 'special focus on the UK and Germany'. Mr Kretinsky – dubbed the Czech Sphinx – agreed the deal to buy Royal Mail's owner in May last year, but it was not cleared until December after he made a raft of commitments over the future of the service and its workers. He was already the biggest shareholder in IDS, which also owned parcel business GLS, prior to the deal.
North Wales Chronicle
27-06-2025
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
Czech billionaire Kretinsky named chairman of Royal Mail after takeover
Mr Kretinsky's EP Group said that, following the closure of the deal earlier this month, he would head up the board as chairman of both Royal Mail and its parent company International Distribution Services (IDS). Confirmation of the appointment came after IDS formally left the London Stock Exchange on June 2 after being taken over by Mr Kretinsky. In April, shareholders approved the £3.6 billion takeover deal, giving the more than 500-year-old company a foreign owner for the first time. Royal Mail's new owner also said on Friday that it had issued a £1 so-called golden share to the UK Government, as agreed under the deal. The golden share means the firm must keep Royal Mail's headquarters and tax residency in the UK. EP added that it has changed Royal Mail's articles of association to include the rights of the Government, and to set up an advisory committee in line with pledges made to trade unions the Communication Workers Union and Unite, as well as the Competition and Markets Authority. EP Group recently appointed former UK trade minister Greg Hands as a full-time strategic adviser. Mr Hands, who was minister for trade policy until last summer when he lost his seat in the House of Commons, will advise the business with a 'special focus on the UK and Germany'. Mr Kretinsky – dubbed the Czech Sphinx – agreed the deal to buy Royal Mail's owner in May last year, but it was not cleared until December after he made a raft of commitments over the future of the service and its workers. He was already the biggest shareholder in IDS, which also owned parcel business GLS, prior to the deal.
