Predators looking for postal pickings

EMBATTLED Consignia is being circled by hungry private sector competitors poised to pounce on areas of the Post Office owner's mail business now that its monopoly is to end.

Deya, Exel and Hays DX are among those lining up to compete with Consignia after the Government's mail regulator, Postcomm, recommended a stepped removal of the monopoly between this April and 2006.

Hays' shares rose sharply on Thursday on the Postcomm announcement, which is subject to six weeks' consultation. It has already been granted one-year licences for collection, streaming and consolidation of mail from customers of its existing document exchange service, as well as for handling all mail costing less than £1 and weighing less than 350 grams for other existing customers.

The group is about to launch a pre-8am delivery-to-the-door service for document exchange customers sending letters to business addresses in London's EC and WC postal districts as well as in some parts of Manchester and Edinburgh.

'We strongly welcome the news that Postcomm is recommending a level playing field for all postal distribution companies,' said Paul Spain, managing director of Deya.

It already has a one-year licence for emergency postal distribution to utilities and local authorities in the event of interruption to the Post Office's 'universal' service. Deya, which delivers phone books and catalogues for BT, Yellow Pages and Ikea, said it has the infrastructure to mount a much bigger challenge to Consignia.