Spring 2007

Business Post subsidiary UK Mail says it has found a ground-breaking way to avoid charging VAT to some customers for postal services.

Post offices threatened with closure as a result of Government policy could find a new lease of life as outlets for Mail Boxes Etc, the independent franchised network of high street parcels 'shops' offering packaging, despatch and communication services as well as physical mail boxes.

MBE operates over a hundred locations in the UK under a master franchise from the US-based owner, parcels giant UPS, but handles consignments via other carriers as well. Gary Coyle, himself a long-time postmaster, is spearheading this initiative under the brand name Postmasternet, and says the target is to recruit up to 300 former post offices to the network, nearly quadrupling MBE's current coverage.

At that density, he says the locations could also offer a viable drop-off service for home delivery consignments. 'The industry is crying out for an alternative to post offices,' Coyle told us.