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The Post Office has announced that more than a hundred larger crown branches – those owned by the company directly – could close with the possible loss of hundreds of jobs.

The Communication Workers Union has signalled a fight ahead as the Post Office confirmed details of its transformation plan.

The affected branches collectively employ close to 1,000 people and are said to be significantly loss-making.

The full list of at-threat branches is as follows:

Bangor – 143 Main Street, BT20 4AQ
Belfast City – 12-16 Bridge Street, BT1 1LT
Edinburgh City – Waverley Mall, Waverley Bridge, EH1 1BQ
Glasgow – 136 West Nile Street, G1 2RD
Haddington – 50 Court Street, EH41 3UU
Inverness – 14-16 Queensgate, IV1 1AX
Kirkwall – 15 Junction Road, KW15 1DD
Londonderry – 3 Custom House Street, BT48 6AA
Newtownards – 8 Frances Street, BT23 4FA
Saltcoats – Chapelwell Street, KA21 5EX
Springburn Way – 230 Springburn Way, Glasgow, G21 1BU
Stornoway – 16 Francis Street, HS1 2AD
Wester Hailes – 14A Westside Plaza, EH14 2SW
Barnes Green – Lee Road, Manchester, M9 4DL
Bransholme – 51A Goodhart Road, Bransholme, Hull, HU7 4JF
Bridlington – 15-17 Quay Road, YO15 2AA
Chester Le Street – 137 Front Street, Chester-le-Street, DH3 3AA
Crossgates – 9 Austhorpe Road, Crossgates, Leeds, LS15 8QS
Eccles – 63 Church Street, Manchester, M30 0NS
Furness House – 5-7 Dalton Road, LA14 1LE
Grimsby – 67-71 Victoria Street, DN31 1AA
Hyde – 30-32 Market Place, SK14 2QU
Kendal – 75 Stricklandgate, LA9 4AA
Manchester – 26 Spring Gardens, M2 1BB
Morecambe – 2-6 Victoria Street, LA4 4AA
Morley – 129A Queens Street, Leeds, LS27 8TB
Poulton Le Fylde – Teanlowe Centre, FY6 7BB
Prestwich – 2 Kingswood Road, Manchester, M25 3NS
Rotherham – 3-5 Bridgegate, S60 1PJ
Salford City – 112 Rossall Way, M6 5DS
Sheffield City – (unclear which branch)
South Shields – 8 King Street, NE33 1HT
St Johns – (unclear)
Sunderland City – 45-47 Fawcett Street, SR1 1RR
The Markets – 6-16 New York Street, Leeds, LS2 7DZ
Birmingham – 1 Pinfold Street, B2 4AA
Breck Road – 11 The Mall, Liverpool, L5 6SW
Caernarfon – Castle Square, LL55 2ND
Didsbury Village – Albert Hill Street, Manchester, M20 6RJ
Harlesden – 2 Wendover Road, London, NW10 4RU
Kettering – 17 Lower Street, NN16 8AA
Kingsbury – 439-441 Kingsbury Road, London, NW9 9DU
Leigh – 17 Silk Street, WN7 1AA
Leighton Buzzard – 7-9 Church Square, LU7 1AA
Matlock – 14 Bank Road, DE4 3AA
Milton Keynes – Unit N1 802 Midsummer Boulevard, MK9 3QA
Northolt – 46 Mandeville Road, UB5 5AA
Old Swan – 489 Prescot Road, Liverpool, L13 3BU
Oswestry – 17 Willow Street, SY11 1AG
Oxford – 102-104 St Aldates, OX1 1ZZ
Redditch – Threadneedle House, Alcester Street, B98 8AB
Southall – 38 The Broadway, UB1 1PY
St Peters Street – 14 St Peters Street, St Albans, AL1 3AA
Stamford – All Saints Place, Stamford, PE9 2EY
Stockport – 36-40 Great Underbank, SK1 1QF
Wealdstone – 4-12 Headstone Drive, Harrow, HA3 5QL
Barnet – 63-65 High Street, EN5 5UU
Cambridge City – 57-58 St Andrew Street, CB2 3BZ
Canning Town – 22 Barking Road, London, E16 1HF
Cricklewood – 193 Cricklewood Broadway, London, NW2 3HR
Dereham – Quebec Street, Dereham, NR19 2AA
Golders Green – 879 Finchley Road, London, NW11 8RT
Hampstead – 79-81A Hampstead High Street, London, NW3 1QL
Harold Hill – 17 Farnham Road, Romford, RM3 8EJ
Kilburn – 79A Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 6JG
Kingsland – 118-120 Kingsland High Street, London, E8 2NX
Lower Edmonton – 1-7 South Mall, Edmonton Green, London, N9 0TX
Roman Road – 138 Roman Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 0RX
South Ockendon – 8 Derwent Parade, RM15 5EB
Stamford Hill – (unclear, two possible locations)
Bideford – The Quay, EX39 2EX
Dunraven Place – 4-5 Wyndham Street, Bridgend, CF31 1AB
Gloucester – Kings Square, GL1 1AD
Liskeard – The Parade, PL14 6AA
Merthyr Tydfil – 3 John Street, CF47 0AB
Mutley – 38 Mutley Plain, Plymouth, PL4 6LL
Nailsea – Crown Glass Place, Bristol, BS48 1RA
Newquay – 31-33 East Street, TR7 1BU
Paignton – 34 Torquay Road, TQ3 3EX
Port Talbot – 139 Station Road, SA13 1NG
Stroud – 16-17 Russell Street, GL5 3AA
Teignmouth – Den Road, TQ14 8AA
Yate Sodbury – 1 South Parade, Bristol, BS37 4BB
Baker Street – 111 Baker Street, London, W1U 6SG
Bexhill On Sea – Devonshire Square, TN40 1AA
Cosham – 13 High Street, Portsmouth, PO6 3EH
Great Portland Street – 173 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5PH
High Street (10) – (unclear, multiple locations)
Kensington – 208-212 Kensington High Street, London, W8 7RG
Knightsbridge – 6 Raphael Street, London, SW7 1DL
Melville Road – 20 Melville Road, Hove, BN3 1UB
Paddington Quay – 4 Praed Street, London, W2 1JX
Portsmouth – Slindon Street, PO1 1AB
Raynes Park – 1a Amity Grove, London, SW20 0LL
Romsey – 15-25 Church Street, SO51 8WA
Westbourne – 10-12 Seamoor Road, Bournemouth, BH4 9AW
Windsor – 38-39 Peascod Street, SL4 1AA
Worlds End – 351-353 Kings Road, London, SW3 5EX
Aldwych – 95 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4JN
Brixton – 242 Ferndale Road, London, SW9 8FR
Broadway – 1 Broadway, London, SW1H 0AX
City of London – 12 Eastcheap, London, EC3M 1AJ
East Dulwich – 74-76 Lordship Lane, London, SE22 8HH
Eccleston Street – 6 Eccleston St, London SW1W 9LS
High Holborn – 181 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7RL
Houndsditch – 11 White Kennet Street, London, E1 7BS
Islington – 160-161 Upper Street, London, N1 1US
Kennington Park – 410 Kennington Road, London, SE11 4QA
London Bridge – 19A Borough High Street, London, SE1 9SF
Lupus Street – 121-125 Lupus Street, London, SW1V 3EW
Mount Pleasant – Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4SQ
Vauxhall Bridge Road – 167 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, SW1V 2ST

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Hovis and Kingsmill-owners in talks about historic bread merger

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Hovis and Kingsmill-owners in talks about historic bread merger

The owners of Hovis and Kingsmill, two of Britain’s leading bread producers, are in talks about a historic merger amid a decades-long decline in the sale of supermarket loaves.

Sky News has learnt that Associated British Foods (ABF), the London-listed company which owns Kingsmill’s immediate parent, Allied Bakeries, and Hovis, which is owned by investment firm Endless, have been involved in prolonged discussions about a combination of the two businesses.

City sources said this weekend that the talks were ongoing, but that there was no certainty that a deal would be finalised.

Bankers are said to be working with both sides on the talks about a transaction.

A deal could be structured as an acquisition of Hovis by ABF, according to analysts, although details about the mechanics of a merger or the valuations attached to the two businesses were unclear this weekend.

ABF is also said to be exploring other options for the future of Allied Bakeries which do not include a deal with Hovis.

If completed, a merger would unite two of Britain’s best-known ambient food brands, with Allied Bakeries having been founded in 1935 by Willard Garfield Weston, part of the family which continues to control ABF.

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Hovis traces its history back even further, having been created in 1890 when Herbert Grime scooped a £25 prize for coming up with the name Hovis, which was derived from the Latin ‘Hominis Vis’ – meaning strength of man.

Persistent inflation, competition from speciality bread producers and shifting consumer habits towards lower-carb diets have combined to impair the bread industry’s financial health in recent decades.

The impact of the war in Ukraine on wheat and flour prices has been among the factors increasing inflationary pressures on bread producers, according to the most recent set of accounts for Hovis filed at Companies House last year.

The overall UK bakery market is said to be worth about £5bn in annual sales, with the equivalent of 11m loaves being sold each day.

The principal obstacle facing a merger of Allied Bakeries, which also owns the Sunblest and Allinson’s bread brands, and Hovis would reside in its consequences for competition in the UK market.

Warburtons, the family-owned business which is the largest bakery group in Britain, is estimated to have a 34% share of the branded wrapped sliced bread sector in the UK, with Hovis on 24% and Allied on 17%, according to industry insiders.

A merger of Hovis and Kingsmill would give the combined group a larger share of that segment of the market, although one source said Warburtons’ overall turnover would remain larger because of the breadth of its product range.

Nevertheless, reducing the number of major supermarket bread suppliers from three to two would be a test of the Competition and Markets Authority’s approach to such industry-reshaping mergers at a time when the watchdog is under intense government scrutiny.

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In January, the government removed the CMA chairman, Marcus Bokkerink, as part of a push to reorient Britain’s economic regulators around growth-focused objectives.

An industry insider suggested that a joint venture involving the distribution networks of Hovis and Kingsmill was a possible, although less likely, alternative to a full-blown merger of the companies.

They added that a combined group could benefit from up to £50m of cost savings from such a tie-up.

In its interim results announcement this week, ABF said the performance of Allied Bakeries had continued to struggle.

“Allied Bakeries continues to face a very challenging market,” it said.

“We are evaluating strategic options for Allied Bakeries against this backdrop and we expect to provide an update in [the second half of] 2025.”

In a separate presentation to analysts, ABF described the losses at Allied as unsustainable.

The company does not disclose details of Allied Bakeries’ financial performance.

Allied also owns Speedibake, an own-label bread manufacturer.

Hovis has been owned by Endless, a prominent investor in British businesses, since 2020, having previously been owned by Mr Kipling-maker Premier Foods and the Gores family.

At the time of the most recent takeover, High Wycombe-based Hovis employed about 2,700 people and operated eight bakery sites and its own flour mill.

Hovis’s current chief executive, Jon Jenkins, is a former boss of Allied Milling and Baking.

This weekend, ABF and Endless both declined to comment.

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Struggling Aston Martin steers into fresh pay controversy

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Struggling Aston Martin steers into fresh pay controversy

Aston Martin is steering a path towards a twin-pronged pay row with shareholders as it grapples with the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on car manufacturers.

Sky News can reveal that the influential proxy voting adviser ISS is urging investors to vote against both of Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings’ remuneration votes at next week’s annual general meeting.

The pay policy vote, which is binding on the company, has attracted opposition from ISS because it proposes significant increases to potential bonus awards to Adrian Hallmark, the company’s new chief executive.

“Concerns are raised regarding the increased bonus maximums, which are built upon competitively[1]positioned salary levels and do not appear appropriate given the company’s recent performance,” ISS said in a report to clients.

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Aston Martin is also facing a meaningful vote against its pay report for last year – which is on an advisory basis only – because of the salaries awarded to Mr Hallmark and other executive directors.

The company’s shares have nearly halved in the last year, and it now has a market value of little more than £660m.

Despite the ISS recommendation, Aston Martin will win the vote by virtue of chairman Lawrence Stroll’s 33% shareholding.

The luxury car manufacturer has had a torrid time as a public company and now faces the headwinds of President Trump’s tariffs blitz.

This week it said it would limit exports to the US to offset the impact of the policy.

Aston Martin did not respond to a request for comment ahead of next Wednesday’s AGM.

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Financial wellbeing platform Mintago lands £6m funding boost

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Financial wellbeing platform Mintago lands £6m funding boost

A financial wellbeing platform which counts the alcohol-free beer producer Lucky Saint among its clients has landed a £6m funding injection from a syndicate of well-known investors.

Sky News understands that Mintago, which was founded in 2019, will announce in the coming days that Guinness Ventures has jointly led the Series A round alongside Seed X Liechtenstein and Social Impact Enterprises.

Mintago, which also counts car rental firm Avis and Northumbrian Police among its customers, aims to help employees save and manage their money more effectively.

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A number of the start-up’s current investors, Love Ventures and Truesight Ventures, are also understood to have reinvested as part of the fundraising.

MINTAGO
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The company, which counts Lucky Saint and Avis among its users, has finalised a Series A funding round

The company was set up by Chieu Cao and Daniel Conti, and claims to offer more salary sacrifice schemes than any other UK provider.

It also provides independent financial advice, a service for finding lost pension pots, retail discounts and GP services.

“We realised that organisations are crying out for the same help we provide their staff,” Mr Conti said.

“The benefits of providing that support impact everyone.

“When a company improves their salary sacrifice benefits engagement, they can save thousands in National Insurance Contributions, but their employees save too, easing the strain on their finances.”

The new capital will be used to develop additional products using artificial intelligence, according to the company.

“Mintago is enabling its customers to become truly people-centric organisations by giving them the tools to support their employees’ financial wellbeing,” Mathias Jaeggi, a partner at Seed X Liechtenstein, said.

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