Royal Mail losing £100m a year

The U.K.'s Sunday Times reports that Alan Cook, the recently appointed managing director of the Britain's Royal Mail Group , has been touring Britain meeting the nation’s sub-postmasters and mistresses and to see how he can stem losses of £100m a year.

According to the Times, "Cook is the man charged with securing the future for the country’s 14,500 post offices. It is a tough task: not only is the network losing about £100m a year, but its position as the government’s cashier — doling out cash to pensioners, mothers and the unemployed — is being eroded as benefits are paid directly into bank accounts. If Cook is to save the nation’s post offices, he has to find a new role for all the sub-postmasters and mistresses across the country. "

As a cost-cutting measure, post offices have been closing at a rate of over 300 a year. This has caused quite a stir - particularly in the rural areas of the country.

Among some of the innovations Cook is looking at is mobile post offices as well as “mini-branches” in pubs and police stations.

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