Royal Mail’s owner has bought a multi-million pound stake in another firm, which will see thousands of convenience stores rebranded.
International Distribution Services (IDS), the firm which owns the postal service, has concluded a purchase of 49 per cent of shares in parcel company Collect+, with part of the deal meaning about 8,000 stores will now be branded Royal Mail.
It means high street stores will sell postage over the counter and customers can pay bills in person rather than only online.
The deal, which is worth £43.9m, will also see self-service kiosks installed in some shops next year, extended opening hours including weekends and evenings – plus retaining the normal operations of Collect+, which include sending and returning parcels from other carriers.
In addition, Royal Mail announced it will hire around 20,000 temporary workers to boost delivery operations across the Christmas period.
The new positions will be spread across two parcel hubs, four seasonal parcel sorting centres and 37 mail centres throughout the country.
It is intended to aid Royal Mail in meeting seasonal surges in demand, covering key shopping events, including Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the usual shopping and sending pre-Christmas.
Specifically, 12,000 mail centre sorting roles will be available in England, with an additional 2,000 in Scotland, 600 in Wales, and 400 in Northern Ireland. Royal Mail will also be recruiting for 3,000 delivery and collection roles across the UK, alongside 2,000 temporary HGV and MGV driver positions.
Royal Mail will set up four extra seasonal sorting centres in Atherstone, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Daventry to help it fulfil deliveries.
Collect+, which has a network of more than 14,000 locations made up of newsagents, convenience stores, supermarkets and petrol stations, was bought out by PayPoint in 2020.
PayPoint said IDS’s investment values the business at £90m and sets it up for future growth.
IDS’s investment in the parcel network follows its decision to pull back on letter deliveries.
Royal Mail is expected to ditch second-class letter deliveries on Saturdays and change the service to every other weekday, across the UK, starting from July next year.
IDS was bought by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group for £3.6bn earlier this year after being cleared by the government, passing the 500-year-old Royal Mail into foreign ownership for the first time.
Mr Kretinsky pledged to secure the long-term future of the postal service and give it a “fresh start”, particularly by focusing on meeting booming demand for parcel services.
Alistair Cochrane, Royal Mail’s chief executive, said: “The launch of the Royal Mail Shop brand creates a new and improved high street destination for all of our customers’ parcel needs in one location.
“This investment is one of the ways we’re making Royal Mail more convenient.”
Additional reporting by PA
