UCL School of Management Director, Professor Davide Ravasi, spoke to BBC Radio Somerset on Tuesday 16 July, sharing insights on the prospective sale of Royal Mail to the Czech energy billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.

In light of the recent news regarding Royal Mail’s 3.6-billion-pound acquisition by Kretinsky, Professor Davide Ravasi shared his expertise on privatisation of companies and the potential implications.

Professor Ravasi stated that if the government wants to ensure the longevity of the Royal Mail and keep the Universal Service Obligation, it should require Kretinsky’s to commit to his proposal in writing. Furthermore, he explained the impact of privatisation is not always positive. When Royal Mail first became privatised in 2013, its mail delivery on-time rate was around 92%. Fast forward to now, it is at only 74%, highlighting a lack of improvement in efficiency as well as reliability.

He also highlighted that the parcel business is far more profitable compared to the mail industry and questioned whether the commitment to the USO will be upheld, especially considering the mail service is in decline and the Royal Mail only has 36% of the market share of the parcel business in the country. 

Listen to the interview on BBC Sounds (timestamp 27:25) or learn more about Davide’s research on organisational privatisation.