Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday (11 July), Cable said: “The sale would initiate the final stage of the governments postal sector reforms, the overarching objectives of these is to secure universal postal service, the six-day-a-week service at uniform and affordable prices to all 29m addresses in the UK.” Cable added that the government would retain flexibility in terms of the size of the stake to be sold “as this would be influenced by market conditions and investor demand”. However, he confirmed that a “majority stake” would be sold. According to Cable the IPO would include a “retail offer” enabling individuals to buy shares, however private institutions will most likely buy the majority of the share issue – although the government has in effect ruled out selling the business as a whole. Royal Mail employees will also be allocated 10% of the Royal Mail’s shares for free, with discounted options to buy more. The share issue is likely to take place in the autumn and, according to reports, will value the business at between £2bn and £3bn. Cable reassured Royal Mail employees that a change in ownership would not trigger a change in their terms and conditions. He added that for at least three years the Royal Mail was committed to: a predominantly full-time workforce, no change to the company structure in relation to its current services and no outsourcing of services. General secretary Billy Hayes of the CWU, which represents around 100,000 of the 150,000 Royal Mail staff, said: “For the secretary of state to describe this decision as logical is unbelievable. “Royal Mail is profitable, has modernised and can be successful in public ownership. The logical step is for the government to consider the union’s proposal to keep the company in public ownership whilst putting in place a not-for-dividend structure that allows profits to be put back in to improving the service.” “CWU will continue to fight the sale and without worthwhile and legally binding assurances on terms and conditions, strike action is inevitable,” added Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary. In the union’s consultative ballot last month, 96% of respondents said they were against privatisation.The union has also published an open letter to Michael Fallon, minister for business and enterprise highlighting the reasons behind its opposition to privatisation. Defending the privatisation, Cable said: “A share sale will not only provide commercial discipline, it will give the Royal Mail future access to private capital enabling the company to continue modernising and to take advantage of commercial opportunities such as the growth of online shopping, building on its success in parcels and logistics.” Separately, the Royal Mail has unveiled a £70m plan to add barcodes to letters so...

Cross Media Consultancy (www.crossmediaconsultancy.co.uk) has been set up by former Xerox manager David Baldaro. He worked at Xerox for more than 13 years, and spent the last eight working as UK, Ireland and Middle East sales and channel manager at its XMPie business. Cross Media Consultancy offers a range of services, including advice on sales and business strategy, training, and effective ways to implement third-party solutions. Baldaro said there was a broad spectrum of print companies who had the potential to offer cross-media services, but didn’t necessarily have the right business strategy to back up their ambitions. “I can advise customers who don’t have experience and want to step into the marketplace, as well as people who may already have cross-media technology but need to learn how to make the most of it,” he said. “Sometimes people are understandably hesitant to make a commitment until they’ve got the business to justify it,” he added. “If companies want to test the market without huge financial risk I can help them put together a campaign, host it and deliver it for them.” Phil Gaskin has taken over Baldaro’s responsibilities at XMPie....

Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday (11 July), Cable said: “The sale would initiate the final stage of the governments postal sector reforms, the overarching objectives of these is to secure universal postal service, the six-day-a-week service at uniform and affordable prices to all 29m addresses in the UK.” Cable added that the government would retain flexibility in terms of the size of the stake to be sold “as this would be influenced by market conditions and investor demand”. However, he confirmed that a “majority stake” would be sold. According to Cable the IPO would include a “retail offer” enabling individuals to buy shares, however private institutions will most likely buy the majority of the share issue – although the government has in effect ruled out selling the business as a whole. Royal Mail employees will also be allocated 10% of the Royal Mail’s shares for free, with discounted options to buy more. The share issue is likely to take place in the autumn and, according to reports, will value the business at between £2bn and £3bn. Cable reassured Royal Mail employees that a change in ownership would not trigger a change in their terms and conditions. He added that for at least three years the Royal Mail was committed to: a predominantly full-time workforce, no change to the company structure in relation to its current services and no outsourcing of services. General secretary Billy Hayes of the CWU, which represents around 100,000 of the 150,000 Royal Mail staff, said: “For the secretary of state to describe this decision as logical is unbelievable. “Royal Mail is profitable, has modernised and can be successful in public ownership. The logical step is for the government to consider the union’s proposal to keep the company in public ownership whilst putting in place a not-for-dividend structure that allows profits to be put back in to improving the service.” “CWU will continue to fight the sale and without worthwhile and legally binding assurances on terms and conditions, strike action is inevitable,” added Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary. In the union’s consultative ballot last month, 96% of respondents said they were against privatisation.The union has also published an open letter to Michael Fallon, minister for business and enterprise highlighting the reasons behind its opposition to privatisation. Defending the privatisation, Cable said: “A share sale will not only provide commercial discipline, it will give the Royal Mail future access to private capital enabling the company to continue modernising and to take advantage of commercial opportunities such as the growth of online shopping, building on its success in parcels and logistics.” Separately, the Royal Mail has unveiled a £70m plan to add barcodes to letters so...

Cross Media Consultancy (www.crossmediaconsultancy.co.uk) has been set up by former Xerox manager David Baldaro. He worked at Xerox for more than 13 years, and spent the last eight working as UK, Ireland and Middle East sales and channel manager at its XMPie business. Cross Media Consultancy offers a range of services, including advice on sales and business strategy, training, and effective ways to implement third-party solutions. Baldaro said there was a broad spectrum of print companies who had the potential to offer cross-media services, but didn’t necessarily have the right business strategy to back up their ambitions. “I can advise customers who don’t have experience and want to step into the marketplace, as well as people who may already have cross-media technology but need to learn how to make the most of it,” he said. “Sometimes people are understandably hesitant to make a commitment until they’ve got the business to justify it,” he added. “If companies want to test the market without huge financial risk I can help them put together a campaign, host it and deliver it for them.” Phil Gaskin has taken over Baldaro’s responsibilities at XMPie....

The ten-year outsourcing contract will involve Communisis taking over the bank’s transactional print facilities. The move is part of the bank’s plans to simplify its operations following a strategic review in 2011, and is the result of a detailed evaluation process that has taken around a year. It was the last of the ‘big four’ banks to produce its own statements. It covers all the Lloyds TSB Banking Group (LBG) brands, which include Halifax, Scottish Widows, and Cheltenham & Gloucester. The overall group has more than 30m customers across its retail and commercial banking operations. Communisis will make a further multi-million pound investment in HP T-series full-colour inkjet presses for the operation, effectively mirroring the facilities at its transactional print supersite in Speke. Chief executive Andy Blundell said: “As far as I’m aware this is the biggest deal ever in Communisis’ history. It’s roughly equivalent to our entire pack output at Speke. It’s big.” LBG employs 243 staff at its print facilities in Crawley and at Copley near Halifax, of which Copley is the largest site. There is also an associated site in Edinburgh that dates from the Scottish Widows integration. The bank currently overprints monochrome variable data onto pre-printed base stock, whereas Communisis has moved to a ‘white paper’ solution with fully variable colour using HP presses. Adare currently produces the pre-printed base stock. Blundell said Communisis would work with LBG to develop the right manufacturing footprint for the future. “We will invest behind that and consult with employees accordingly,” he said. The re-equipping is likely to involve two HP T400 presses and possibly an additional narrow web T200 device, Blundell said, along with associated finishing and mailing kit. Longer-term the group could also produce work for other customers at the revamped facility. “There is potentially scope to commercialise it over time, but first and foremost it’s about maintaining service levels and providing a seamless transition with Lloyds TSB,” Blundell added. The £20m of additional funding gained by Communisis through a share issue four months ago has given the group the scope to take on the contract. The money was earmarked for contract acquisition, restructuring and potential M&A. Blundell said the group was looking at a number of possible acquisition opportunities, with developments in that area likely in the third quarter. Communisis’ share price jumped to a 52-week high of 61.5p after the news was announced. The deal is subject to formal ratification by the LBG board next month, with implementation planned to take place from October. Edit note: This story has been amended. There was an inadvertent miscommunication between LBG and PrintWeek. The separate contract for general direct mail print handled by Xerox Global Services is not...