As part of its efforts to deliver a ‘new deal for postmasters’, the Post Office has announced that the remaining 108 directly managed branches will be franchised by the autumn.
Communities that currently have a directly managed branch will continue to access Post Office services either at, or near to, the same location, the Post Office confirmed.
The company announced in November 2024 that the future of its directly managed branch network would be under review owing to their fully allocated loss (including central and support costs) of over £40m (US$52.3m) each year.
Following consultation with unions and reviewing options with the Postmaster Consultative Council, a decision was taken by the Post Office Board to move to a fully franchised network to help fund increases in the remuneration postmasters receive.
Nigel Railton, Post Office chair, commented, “Moving to a fully franchised network is one part of enabling the Post Office to deliver a new deal for postmasters, helping to create a long-term, sustainable future for the Post Office. By franchising these branches, we are protecting access to our services for communities right across the UK and realizing £40m worth of savings that will enable us to uplift postmasters’ remuneration by up to 10%.
“Over the coming months, we will continue to work with our unions to ensure that we treat our staff working in these 108 branches with care and respect through this transition, consulting with them on proposed changes. The 108 Post Offices will either stay in the same location where possible or be located close to the existing location, meaning customers will continue to have access to a full suite of products and services.”
The Post Office remains committed to meeting the current requirement to have a minimum of 11,500 branches across the UK and to meet the six Access Criteria set by the UK government.
Post Office will work with franchise partners with a clear track record of successfully running Post Office services or similar customer-focused retail to ensure communities in these 108 locations will continue to receive a high quality of service once their directly managed branch is franchised. Further details on proposals will be shared with local communities and stakeholders for individual branches in the coming weeks.