Selling the Crown Jewels

SELLING OFF THE CROWN JEWELS

In the Autumn Royal Mail was privatised but is was slightly unclear exactly what elements were in the new company and which elements were not !  It appears that the UK postcode system has been sold off as part of the deal which might explain why the share price was so high.  So a privately owned company now owns the national postcode system. This is really important not just to delivery companies but to any industry requiring address validation. This was never even mentioned in the stock exchange listing and does not appear in any investor material on the Royal Mail site.  I did a double check and the Postal Address File (PAF) is still branded as a Royal Mail asset and competitors still have to pay to use it !!  I dont think there is even any price control !

The new Royal Mail doesn't seem to understand that it is still a very Market Dominant company and that as such it is severely constrained in how it prices products.  I was absolutely amazed to read Royal Mail Wholesale's price increase plans earlier in the year.  These plans have now been halted and investigated  by Ofcom following a complaint by TNT.  The Downstream Access agreement is the cornerstone of the UK governments "market opening" policy which now seems to be in considerable disarray.   Prices should be set by the regulator and not the dominant player in the market.  20% price increases on some products were a key feature of the Royal Mail pricing proposals earlier this year which were complete jargon and largely unintelligible.  I am an expert in postal pricing and this was the most confusing document I had ever seen. I was also very concerned that Royal Mail would price by type of content and that Royal Mail competitors were being required to disclose such sensitive information to their biggest competitor. 

Independent Quality of Service figures are a key performance indicator for a business like Royal Mail and they are directly linked to commercial contracts and prices both in the UK and overseas.  Performance results should first be released to the market through the Stock Exchange market information systems rather than by the company. I have some personal knowledge about this as I set up the Stock Exchanges market information systems during Big Bang deregulation

The highly profitable GLS has been included in the sell-off and this probably contributed significantly to the success of the sell off.  There didn't seem to be any European Commission Competition Commissioner investigation into the sale which has effectively created a pan-European business on the same scale as DHL, TNT or DPD.

So maybe the question that should be asked is did the UK taxpayer get paid enough for this very valuable asset.  Certainly the UK regulator should be taking far more interest in the post-sale Royal Mail Group, how it is operating as a "market dominant" company and whether the inclusion of PAF was a proper decision.  Being a publicly traded company requires a far higher level of openness and transparency than a public company.  

Privatisation was an excellent decision for Royal Mail but is the UK Government and the European Commission up to managing this new "Market Dominant" entity and drive fair and equitable competition into the UK market ?  Lots to do !!

Written by Richard Wishart

#postal

First Aid

First Priority First Aid Training Course

Dean Crago has just launched his brand new company "Priory First Aid Training" and is running his very first public course.  Within HBN we all know the amount of effort and preparation that Dean has put into getting his new business ready for Launch - and we all wish him every success in his new venture



With his extensive and current A&E nursing experience Dean has a real passion for saving lives. Working in the Northern Territories of Australia with the Flying Doctor Service gave him superb experience in how to deal with medical emergencies in situations where support could be many hours away



Dean would like to give HBN members a special deal on my up coming one day first aid course in Peterborough (Monday the 31st).

 
The course itself meets HSE workplace requirements for small business and is certified for 3 years. There are plenty of other free extras for course attenders too (see leaflet above).
 
Places are very limited (max 12 people per course).
 
The offer. Any member who pays for a place on this course can bring a friend, family member or loved one along for free if they wish. A place on this course is just £59
 
The idea behind this is that first aid is essential not just at work but in all areas of life. Get some training to the people that matter to you so that they know what to do if the worst happen.
 
Please contact Dean on info@priorityfirstaid.co.uk or +447929205661 to book yourself onto the course

well done Dean

Written by Richard Wishart

Chris Thomas

Portrait photographs for your Social Media

Dr Chris Thomas from Milton Contact Ltd organised a unique photographic event at The Works Studio for Huntingdonshire Business Network Members this week.  http://www.meetup.com/Huntingdonshire-Business-Network/events/166720222/

Chris helps companies with their communication - in print, in image and in video and is one of my top business collaborators - and a really good friend.

We had over 20 members at the event and Chris was taking really high quality portraits for people to use on their Social Media profiles. He was "in the Zone"

Within the whole population of the world every face is absolutely unique and the first action of a newly born baby is to imprint its mothers face.  So face recognition is perhaps the most important sense that any human will ever have.  A human face cleverly photographed can portray trust, humour and friendliness which are essentials when people are assessing you on Social Media and deciding whether to connect (or not)

So if you are using any form of social media a really good portrait picture is essential - I wont connect with anyone who doesn't have a portrait picture. It is also important to have the same portrait picture on all your social media channels.

So my new portrait picture is now up on Linkedin, Twitter, Google+ and Meetup.  A few more lines and wrinkles than the last time I updated my portrait - but maybe that is a sign of maturity!!

What do you think ?

Written by Richard Wishart

HBN at Alconbury Weald

HBN first business networking at the new Innovation Centre

Last week HBN had their first business networking meeting in the brand new Innovation Centre at Alconbury Weald.  So new that it hadn't even formally opened and we were its first event !!! Wow.

Really big thanks to Rebecca Britton and Victoria Parchment from Urban and Civic for giving us this superb opportunity

Jackie Cooper gave us a great presentation on the Destination Digital programme for Cambridgeshire and one of our members Louise Lee presented her business "Saunders and Lee"  - A Virtual PA company that only exists because of connectivity and a digital ecosystem.

Louise's presentation was brilliant and the commonly used term "Virtual PA" fell far short of the research work that they do and the value that they can provide.  We might need to think of some new terminology.

What superb topics by Jackie and Louise to kick off what will be a long and profitable relationship with the new innovation centre.  The plan is to hold a meeting their on the last Friday of each month.

#HBNsocial    #Alconbury

Lions Den

THE LIONS DEN

Bryony Rodda from "Fashion Forward You"  wins the Lions Den at Huntingdonshire Regional College last week. What an experience to be asked to help judge such an inspiring event.  I was very impressed by all the contestants and really enjoyed working with the other judges.

Big thanks to all the local business sponsors of the event and particularly to my fellow Huntingdonshire Manufacturers Association (HMA) committee members for contributing to the prize money.  Special thanks to Huntingdonshire Business Network for supporting me and their financial contribution.

It would be great if we could get the winners along to one of our HBN monthly seminars to present their business ideas - maybe we could help

What a superb and inspirational event

Richard Wishart

HBN Chairman

 

Engaging with Enterprise Education

LEPs and local firms 'should engage with enterprise education'

(From the Business Advisers' News badnews@cobwebinfo.com )

Businesses should be encouraged through tax reliefs and other incentives to be more actively involved in enterprise and entrepreneurship education, a report by the All-Party Group for Micro Businesses has recommended. Other measures recommended in the report, 'An Education System Fit for an Entrepreneur', include requiring LEPs to have at least two board members who run a small or micro business, and requiring LEPs to demonstrate engagement with enterprise education, in order to qualify for Government funding, for example, through the Regional Growth Fund (RGF).

There is more about the report at:

http://www.enterprise.ac.uk/index.php/news/item/402-entrepreneurs-and-educators-agree
-new-report-calls-for-better-integration-of-entrepreneur-skills-at-all-levels-of-education

written by Richard Wishart

Exposure

EXPOSURE

"WORKING WITH THE MEDIA TO IMPROVE BUSINESS"

Collette Parker from 20 20 Communications will lead this really important Seminar to help local businesses understand "Exposure" and how to work with the "Media"

Collette has had an impressive journalistic and editorial career. As well as working for the Hunts Post and the Cambridge Evening News she has also written for the Daily Express, Guardian Education, The Times and Elle Magazine.

Hywel Barrett who is the Business Reporter of the Hunts Post will be assisting Collette and explaining what he is looking for in a good local business story.

Good publicity is the lifeblood of any business and for start-up micro-businesses it is critical.

The event is £5 for HBN Members and £10 for non-members and the WI will be providing one of their famous "home-made" buffets

Please arrive at 1230 for food and networking - the seminar will start at 1300

(picture of Hywel by Mark Gibbons of Cheeky Monkey Photography  www.cheekymonkeyphotography.co.uk)

http://www.meetup.com/Huntingdonshire-Business-Network/events/162886812/