Czech billionaire bidding to buy Royal Mail will face national security review

THE Czech billionaire trying to buy Royal Mail will face a national security review, the Chancellor confirmed yesterday, amid concerns about the takeover.

Daniel Kretinsky this week made a sweetened £5.3billion takeover bid for Royal Mail’s listed owner, International Distributions Services, with pledges to keep the postal business registered in the UK and maintain posties’ contracts.

Campaigners and unions fear a foreign takeover of the Royal Mail owner could lead to the company being split up, its tax base being shifted overseas or customer delivery standards dropped.

Kretinsky, the biggest investor in International Distribution Services, has already been through one national security review in 2022 when his stake went above 25 per cent.

Jeremy Hunt told journalists ­yesterday that while the Government ­welcomes “international investment in British companies . . . we do always look at national security considerations and make sure that in terms of our core infrastructure there are no risks to those going forward and any bid for Royal Mail would go through that normal process”.

It is understood concerns are over the importance of the postal network, rather than about Mr Kretinsky, who also owns stakes in Sainsbury’s and West Ham.

Firm fails up

THE number of companies going bust rose by 18 per cent in April.

Figures from the Insolvency Service showed they hit 2,177 as firms struggled with high borrowing costs and inflation.

Company voluntary arrangements doubled and there was a 44 per cent rise in winding-up petitions.

Asda pumped

SALES at ASDA rose by 6.6 per cent in the first three months of the year to £5.3billion, boosted by new convenience stores on petrol forecourts.

The supermarket’s like-for-like sales lifted by 1.4 per cent, helped by its Aldi and Lidl price match.

Asda said it would invest £50million in store refurbishments.