David Laybourne, managing director , Real Digital International

"Royal Mail’s response to the pressures posed by downstream access providers has been damaging; partial privatisation will make them worse still. Services are now inflexible and inconsistent, with arbitrary decisions being made daily. Decisions and approvals change on a whim, with no recourse for customers. Privatisation should improve efficiencies but the pressures placed on Royal Mail to achieve revenue targets will make them even more reactionary in their approach."

Steven Hudson, executive director, group services, The Lettershop Group

"Selling a minority stake will do nothing for the culture of Royal Mail, and it might not even be an attractive investment proposition. Indeed, it could never be attractive while its pension liabilities remain as they are. The future of our postal services is largely dependent on direct mail. In turn, the future ability of direct mail to compete with other media depends on improvements in the cost-efficiency and flexibility of postal operations. Royal Mail needs an injection of capital to develop for the future, but I’m not sure partial privatisation is the answer."

Robert Keitch, director of media channel development, DMA

"It is essential that the direct mail industry has a healthy and fit-for-purpose Royal Mail operation. Without that, we have a problem because we can’t operate efficiently. Will partial privatisa-tion help this? Well, yes and no. In itself, it won’t lead to that but there is an expectation that the proposed measures will help provide continual funding, which will improve services and help Royal Mail get to grips with an effective service. But it is hard to predict the purpose of the suggested action. Is it to get more investment to improve services or is it to raise finances to cover pension deficits?"

Linden Kitson, managing director, The Lick Group

"Partial, or even full, privatisation is something I’m eager to see. The direct mail industry is crying out for a restructure of Royal Mail as the current mailing model is completely unsustainable. It’s impossible for the company to provide efficient, profitable services with the ‘law unto itself’ attitude it currently appears to hold. SMEs are suffering due to the lack of competitive environment within which to work, especially in the direct mail sector. Partial privatisation should help to increase competition and in turn provide a more efficient service for direct mail."