Tesco could save 100 Post Office branches from closing in potential takeover deal

According to a reports, Post Office president Nigel Railton told MPs that the supermarket concatenation was funny successful acquiring the straight managed offices

Tesco is reportedly successful the moving to prevention astir 100 Post Office branches arsenic the state-owned organisation explores moving them to a franchise model.

According to a study from Sky News, Post Office president Nigel Railton told MPs that the supermarket concatenation was funny successful acquiring the straight managed offices. One unnamed MP who attended the meetings claimed that Nigel Railton had indicated the supermarket was among a tiny fig of suitors that could drawback up the sites.

Last autumn, Railton launched a wider strategical reappraisal of the organisation arsenic the aboriginal of the Post Office was called into question. Railton took implicit arsenic seat of the institution pursuing the departure of the erstwhile boss, Henry Staunton, who was sacked by erstwhile Tory Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch.

The gathering betwixt much than 20 MPs and Railton was acceptable up to sermon the destiny of the straight managed sites, which comprise a precise tiny portion of the wider Post Office network. Approximately 99% of Post Office branches are present operated by franchisees, with lone 1% of sites being straight managed. The 108 branches employment astir 1,000 people. However, commercialized national officials person reportedly voiced interest implicit the Post Office’s proposals.

In November, the Post Office said that it did not program to trim its astir 8,500 branches, of which autarkic postmasters and section businesses operate. Additionally, determination are 2,000 Post Offices managed by retailers, specified arsenic WHSmith and the Co-op, which volition stay unaffected.

A spokesperson for the Post Office told the quality publication: “We are afloat committed to engaging openly and transparently with MPs regarding immoderate imaginable plans related to our straight managed subdivision (DMB) network. Since inviting expressions of involvement for 108 Post Offices that we presently operate, we person received involvement from retail partners and autarkic postmasters successful the hundreds. We stay committed to engaging with our commercialized unions implicit the imaginable aboriginal ownership of our straight managed branches, which are loss-making for us, into March earlier updating our colleagues who enactment successful these branches connected immoderate imaginable adjacent steps.”

Tesco declined to remark erstwhile approached by Sky News.