Connect with us

Published

on

Ministers are exploring plans to hand ownership of the Post Office to thousands of sub-postmasters across Britain in an historic shake-up at the 364 year-old institution.

Sky News has learnt that the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has asked BCG, the management consultancy, to examine options for mutualising the Post Office.

The work is said to be at an early stage, but is expected to result in a report being handed to Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, in the coming months, according to a government insider.

BCG’s work is expected to include assessing the viability of turning the Post Office into an employee-owned mutual, a model which is used by the John Lewis Partnership, the Whitehall insider added.

People close to the process cautioned this weekend that no decisions had yet been taken, and said that a mutualisation of the Post Office could be a lengthy and complicated process.

The Post Office is Britain’s biggest retail network, with roughly 11,500 branches, but is only financially viable because of an annual subsidy it receives from the government.

In April, Kevin Hollinrake, the then Conservative minister responsible for postal affairs, met trade union officials and representatives of the co-operative movement to discuss the possibility of mutualising it.

More from Business

The minister who currently oversees the Post Office, Gareth Thomas, chaired the Co-operative Party for nearly 20 years.

Both Mr Thomas and Mr Reynolds are scheduled to give evidence to the public inquiry into the Horizon IT crisis next month, and may be asked about the project being undertaken by BCG during their appearances.

The Post Office is wholly owned by the state, with the public’s shareholding managed by UK Government Investments (UKGI).

In recent months, calls for a review of the company’s ownership model have grown amid rising public anger at the wrongful conviction of hundreds of sub-postmasters after they were accused of stealing cash from their branches.

Crystallised by the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which exposed the scandal to a wider audience, it has been labelled Britain’s biggest miscarriage of justice.

Many of those affected suffered ill health, marital breakdowns or died before they were exonerated.

This week, Sir Alan said the government should consider suing former directors of the company

Sir Alan, who was knighted in the King’s birthday honours in June, is still to agree a compensation settlement with the government.

The Post Office’s travails have deepened this year, with internal governance rows and disputes between the company’s board and its owner erupting in public.

In January, Henry Staunton, the chairman, was sacked by Kemi Badenoch, the then business secretary, for what she alleged were serious governance failings.

Mr Staunton subsequently disclosed an investigation into bullying claims against Nick Read, the Post Office’s chief executive, which the organisation said in April had exonerated him.

Mr Read was accused of constant attempts to secure pay rises, even as sub-postmasters were facing protracted delays to their entitlement to compensation after being wrongfully convicted.

As part of their efforts to repair the Post Office’s battered finances and reputation, the government has parachuted in Nigel Railton, a former boss of National Lottery operator Camelot, as its chairman.

One of Mr Railton’s first major tasks is to find a new chief executive, after Mr Read confirmed last month that he was leaving after five-and-a-half years in the job.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

Any attempt to mutualise the company would also need to take into account the ongoing financial cost of the compensation bill for the Horizon IT scandal, as well as the fact that a replacement system has yet to be successfully implemented.

After meeting Mr Hollinrake in April, Andy Furey, a national officer at the CWU Union, said: “There has to be a totally new operating model for the Post Office going forward to remain relevant for society.

“[The] people on the frontline delivering the service to communities on a daily basis deserve a much bigger say in the running of the Post Office.”

This weekend, a spokesman for the Department for Business and Trade declined to comment.

Continue Reading

Business

Music video streamer ROXi lands backing from US broadcasters

Published

on

By

Music video streamer ROXi lands backing from US broadcasters

A music video-streaming service whose shareholders include the U2 bassist Adam Clayton will this week announce that it has sealed a management buyout after months of talks.

Sky News understands that the assets of MagicWorks, which trades as ROXi, have been sold to a new company called FastStream Interactive (FSI), with backing from two major US-based broadcasters.

Sources said that Nasdaq-listed Sinclair and New York Stock Exchange-listed Gray Media were among the new shareholders in FSI, with the launch of new interactive TV Channels in the US expected to take place shortly.

The deal, which has involved raising millions of pounds of new equity from new and existing investors, has resulted in previous creditors of the business being repaid in full, according to the sources.

Its search for funding from the US was seen as vital because of the programme to roll out its FastScreen technology.

Founded in 2014, ROXi described itself as the world’s first ‘made-for-television’ service, allowing viewers to stream millions of songs and download hundreds of thousands of karaoke tracks.

Its broadcast channels allow viewers to skip through content in which they have no interest.

More from Money

Simon Cowell, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams were among the prominent music industry figures who had previously been named as ROXi investors.

Financiers including Guy Hands and Jim Mellon are said to be part of the new ownership structure.

In response to an enquiry from Sky News, Rob Lewis, FSI chief executive, said: “The new technology, FastStream, will revolutionise broadcast TV.

“For the first time in history, consumers tuning into a normal TV channel will find they automatically start at the beginning of the programme, and that they are able to skip, pause or search, even though they are watching normal broadcast TV”.

Begbies Traynor Group, the professional services firm, and Rockefeller Capital Management advised on the process.

Continue Reading

Business

Concierge firm founded by Queen’s nephew hunts buyer

Published

on

By

Concierge firm founded by Queen's nephew hunts buyer

Quintessentially, the luxury concierge service founded by the Queen’s nephew, is in talks to find a buyer months after it warned of “material uncertainty” over its future.

Sky News has learned that the company, which was set up by Sir Ben Elliot and his business partners in 1999, is working with advisers on a process aimed at finding a new owner or investors.

City sources said this weekend that Quintessentially was already in discussions with prospective buyers and was anticipating receipt of a number of firm offers.

Sir Ben, the former Conservative Party co-chairman under Boris Johnson, owns a significant minority stake in the company.

The Quintessentially group operates a number of businesses, although its core activity remains the provision of lifestyle support to high net worth individuals including celebrities, royalty, and leading businesspeople.

It also counts major companies among its clients and offers services such as organising private jet flights and performances by top musicians.

The sale process is being overseen by a firm called Beyond, although further details, including the price that the business might fetch, were unclear on Saturday.

More from Money

One insider said parties who had been contacted by Beyond were being offered the option to buy a controlling interest in Quintessentially.

This could be implemented through a combination of the repayment of outstanding loans, an injection of new funding into the business, and the purchase of existing shareholders’ interests, they added.

Quintessentially’s founders, including Sir Ben, are thought to be keen to retain an equity interest in the company after any deal.

In January 2022, newspaper reports suggested that Quintessentially had been put up for sale with a valuation of £140m.

Deloitte, the accountancy firm, was charged with finding a buyer at the time but a transaction failed to materialise.

Sir Ben, who was knighted in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours list, turned to one of Quintessentially’s shareholders for financial support during the pandemic.

World Fuel Services, an energy and aviation services company, is owed £15.5m as well as £3.5m in accrued interest, according to one person close to the process.

The loan is said to include a warrant to convert it into equity upon repayment.

Read more from Sky News:
This year’s Sunday Times Rich List revealed
Gold spike means you should update your insurance
Cheapest pint in the UK revealed

Quintessentially does not disclose the number or identities of many of its clients, although it said in annual accounts filed at Companies House in January that it had increased turnover to £29.6m in the year to 30 April 2024.

The accounts suggested the company was seeing growth in demand from clients internationally.

“During the last year, we have not only renewed important corporate contracts like Mastercard, but have also expanded by adding new corporate clients like Swiss4 in the UK, R360 in India, and Visa in the Middle East and South America,” they said.

In its experiences and events division, it won a contract to work with the Red Sea Film Festival and to provide corporate concierge services to the Saudi Premier League.

It added that Allianz, the German insurer, BMW, and South African lender Standard Bank were among other clients with which it had signed contracts.

The accounts included the warning of a “risk that the pace and level at which business returns could be materially less than forecast, requiring the group and company to obtain external funding which may not be forthcoming and therefore this creates material uncertainty that may cast ultimately cast doubt about the … ability to continue as a going concern”.

This weekend, a Quintessentially spokesman declined to comment on the sale process.

Continue Reading

Business

Superstar Adele joins backers of music royalties platform Audoo

Published

on

By

Superstar Adele joins backers of music royalties platform Audoo

Adele, the Grammy award-winning artist, has joined the list of music superstars investing in Audoo, a music technology company which helps artists to receive fairer royalty payments.

Sky News has learnt that the British musician and Adam Clayton, the U2 bassist, have injected money into Audoo as part of a £7m funding round.

The pair join Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney and ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus as shareholders in the company.

Changes to Audoo’s share register were filed at Companies House in recent days.

Audoo, which was established by former musician Ryan Edwards, is trying to address the perennial issue of public performance royalties, in order to ensure musicians are rewarded when their work is played in public venues.

Mr Edwards is reported to have been motivated to set up the company after hearing his own music played at football stadia and in bars, without any payment for it.

Estimates suggest that artists lose out on billions of dollars of unaccounted royalties each year.

More on Adele

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

London-based Audoo uses a monitoring device – which it calls an Audio Meter – to recognise songs played in public venues, and which is said to have a 99% success rate.

It has struck what it describes as industry-first partnerships with organisations including the music licensing company PPL/PRS to track and report songs played in public performance locations such as cafes, hair salons, shops and gyms.

“At Audoo, we’re incredibly proud of the continued support we’re receiving as we work to make music royalties fairer and more transparent for artists and rights-holders around the world through our pioneering technology,” Mr Edwards told Sky News in a statement on Friday.

“We have successfully reached £7m in our latest funding round.

“This funding marks a pivotal moment for Audoo as we focus on our growth in North America and across Europe, bringing us closer to our mission of revolutionising the global royalty landscape.”

Sources said the new capital would be used partly to finance Audoo’s growth in the US.

The latest funding round takes the total amount of money raised by the company since its launch to more than $30m.

Mr Edwards has spoken of his desire to establish a major presence in Europe and the US because of their status as the world’s biggest recorded music markets.

Adele’s management company did not respond to an enquiry from Sky News.

Continue Reading

Trending