PostNL has announced price increases for standard mail in the Netherlands and international letters from January 1, 2016, and completed the management buyout of its UK subsidiary Whistl, formerly known as TNT Post UK.
The rate increase will see the basic postage for letters within the Netherlands to go up by 5.8% to €0.73 next year, up from €0.69 this year. Postal stamps for international letters will also rise 8.7% from €1.15 to €1.25.
When buying stamps for standard domestic letters at franking machines, Dutch consumers can save money paying only €0.65 for basis postage instead of €0.73. The business rates will also increase but the basic rate for sending a parcel will not change, PostNL added.
Explaining the upcoming price rise, the Dutch postal operator said: “As a result of the continuing switch to e-mail, social media and other digital means of communication, postal volumes continue to decline. To a large extent, PostNL compensates for this effect through cost savings; however, tariff increases are necessary to offer reliable and accessible postal services in the Netherlands in the future.”
Meanwhile, the Dutch postal group has announced the completion of the management buyout (MBO) of Whistl. The parties have reached an agreement on outstanding conditions, including the financing, since the MBO was announced on July 30, 2015, as PostNL decided to exit the British postal market.
PostNL said the MBO followed its strategic review of its activities in the UK. As part of the transaction, it will retain 17.5% of the shares in Whistl and will continue supporting the business as a shareholder. This gives Whistl control over the remaining 82.5% of the shares.
The management takeover follows Whistl’s exit from the final-mile delivery business in the UK in June this year, launched in 2012, to refocus on its core activities of mail collection and sorting, with Royal Mail providing the actual delivery under a downstream access contract.
Back in July, Whistl said the MBO will enable it to develop its current portfolio of activities and build its leading position in the UK postal market. “Through a management led company, Whistl will continue to build upon its entrepreneurial heritage. We will continue to challenge, innovate and provide great service to customers, whilst retaining the support of PostNL,” CEO Nick Wells had said.
Whistl is the second largest postal operator in the UK. Its core downstream access (DSA) business has over 56% market share in the UK handling around 3.75 billion items of mail, alongside an established Door Drop Media division. In addition there are growing Packets and Parcels and Logistics divisions.
