Royal Mail Lines up Next Sell-Off

[AtThePost]

Anybody else seen this? More post offices etc to go (although they dont say exactly how many - just a probable £20m worth)

Royal Mail lines up next sell-off
By Jonathan Russell, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 2:18am BST 29/07/2007

Royal Mail is to sell off a second multi-million pound property port-folio of post offices and sorting depots just months after concluding its first £70m deal.

The state-owned postal service has appointed property agents Atisreal to undertake the sell off, which property professionals predict will contain a significant number of retail post offices, as well as industrial and office buildings.

Although many of the transactions are likely to be sale-and-leasebacks, the move to cut liabilities and generate cash from its property portfolio is likely to anger campaigners trying save the post office network in the face of planned closures.

A property professional said: "Following the success of the last transaction Royal Mail seems to be keen to squeeze a lot more value out of its property portfolio."

The sale in March of 300 properties was a mixture of freeholds and leaseholds, some occupied some vacant, and was bought by Land Securities Trillium, the outsourcing arm of the largest property company in the UK.

Although the make up and size of the portfolio now being put together has not been defined the sale price could top £20m.

Royal Mail said: "We are continually reviewing our property estate as we move to increase efficiency, drive down costs and maintain a high level of service to customers in a competitive market."

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[POSTMAN]

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