Royal Mail’s foreign sale would put a 500-year-old

Czech tycoon’s private buyout of UK postal group would come with very limited assurances – and a weight of added debt

Royal Mail owner agrees to £3.57bn takeover by Czech billionaire

There is much to fear from the takeover of Royal Mail by a private financier. It is fair to say that over the longer term, everything about the 500-year-old institution could now be at risk.

The string of commitments made by the Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský in his bid for the postal service’s parent group, International Distribution Services (IDS) – accepted by the board on Wednesday – will be vulnerable to renegotiation after just a few years.