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Post Office Limited
Post Office Customer Support Centre
Finsbury Dials
20 Finsbury Street
London
EC2Y 9AQ.
Rt Hon Greg Clark MP
Secretary of State
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
1 Victoria Street
London
SW1H OET
2st July 2016
New Seensbey ef ab
I wanted to write to congratulate you on your appointment as Secretary of State for
Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. You may recall we met previously on Post Office
business, during the Network Change programme, and I look forward to working with you
again over the months ahead.
You arrive in your new post at a key period in the development of the Post Office. Weare
transforming at pace in order to become a commercially sustainable business, reducing our
dependence on taxpayer subsidy while safeguarding the essential role we play in
communities across the UK.
Since separation from the Royal Mail in 2012 we have made significant strides in
modernising our network — hosting our branches in successful retail businesses which
deliver a better experience for customers on a more financially secure basis. Our 2015-16
Report and Accounts (which will be published shortly) will show our pre-subsidy losses
reducing to £24m — a huge improvement from the £116m loss we were making just three
years earlier. In the next 24 months we are on track to make a pre-subsidy profit (on an
EBITDA basis) for the first time in 15 years. This has enabled the Government to reduce our
network subsidy payment, from £210m in 2012/13 to £70m next year and was achieved
whilst we maintained over 11,500 branches and continued to meet our network access
criteria (93 per cent of the entire UK population within 1 mile of a Post Office, 99% within 3
miles); [and, we opened 20 new branches last year]. The network of Post Office branches is
now at its most stable for 25 years.
Post Office Limited is registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 2154540
Registered Office Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London, EC2Y 9AQ PostOffice.co.uk
Post Office and the Post Office logo are registered trade marks of Post Office Limited
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Despite this significant progress, we continue to face structural challenges in our core
markets as a result of rapidly changing consumer trends. We are therefore developing a
new strategy to 2020/21 designed to strengthen our market position, improve our digital
capabilities and radically reduce our operating costs. While this will require investment to
execute, it provides an historic opportunity to complete the commercial turnaround of the
Post Office and put the network on a self-sustaining footing.
I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this strategy with you. It would also be useful
to discuss whether you have any particular policy priorities for the Post Office (beyond
safeguarding the network) and how we can respond to these as part of our commercial
strategy in order to secure a positive future.
Paula Vennells
Chief Executive
Post Office Limited is registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 2154540
Registered Office Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London, EC2Y 9AQ PostOffice.co.uk
Post Office and the Post Office logo are registered trade marks of Post Office Limited