Post Office in talks over sale of telecoms division
The Post Office is said to be in discussions over a sale of its telecoms arm and is mulling a sale of its insurance business as part of a shake-up under its new chief executive.
The scandal-hit company has appointed bankers to oversee an auction of its telecoms division, which has half a million customers and pulls in revenue of roughly £150m, Sky News reported.
The sale process was reportedly kicked off after a number of unsolicited offers and bankers at PJT Partners, which is overseeing the auction, are seeking a price tag of more than £100m.
Another City firm, Fenchurch Advisory Partners, has been appointed to conduct a strategic review of the Post Office’s insurance business.
The mooted sales mark a major move by chief executive Nick Read, who ordered a comprehensive review of the company after taking over last year.
The Post Office’s insurance arm has roughly 300,000 customers spread across its travel, home, motor and protection products.
A sale of one or both of the divisions would allow the group to refocus on its efforts on handling mail and parcels, as well as providing cash and banking services, a source told Sky News.
It comes as Read, who previously ran convenience store chain Nisa, continues to contend with the fallout from a major scandal that saw a number of Post Office branch managers — known as subpostmasters — wrongly sent to prison.
Last year the company agreed to pay nearly £58m to settle a legal claim brought by a group of 550 subpostmasters.
It has also committed to appointing one of its pastmasters to the board for the first time.
A spokesperson for the Post Office declined to comment.