Petrol and diesel retailers fuelling cost of living crisis with higher profit margins, says CMA – business live | Business
CMA: Supermarkets have pumped up fuel profit margins
Britain’s competition watchdog has accused motor fuel retailers, such as supermarkets, of hiking their profit margins, at the expense of motorists.
In a new update on the cost of living crisis, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warns that some “weakening of competion” in the road fuel retail market has driven up the prices paid by drivers at the pumps.
The CMA says that high pump prices cannot be solely blamed on global factors, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The CMA says:
Evidence gathered by the CMA indicates that fuel margins have increased across the retail market, but in particular for supermarkets, over the past 4 years. As a result of these increasing margins, average 2022 supermarket pump prices appear to be around 5 pence per litre more expensive than they would have been had their average percentage margins remained at 2019 levels.
Although supermarkets still tend to be the cheapest retail suppliers of fuel, evidence from internal documents indicates that at least one supermarket has significantly increased its internal forward-looking margin targets over this period. Other supermarkets have recognised this change in approach and may have adjusted their pricing behaviour accordingly.
The CMA is also concerned that competition in the diesel market has weakened this year
While some degree of variation in diesel retail margin is to be expected given the high levels of volatility in diesel wholesale prices, the high margins in 2023 appear to have gone on longer than would be expected.
The CMA needs to understand whether weaker competition is part of the explanation for this.
Last month, the RAC accused forecourt owners of charging more than necessary for diesel:
The CMA also suggests that UK supermarkets have not provided evidence to the watchdog in a timely way, saying:
Whilst the level of engagement with the study has varied across supermarkets, we are not satisfied that they have all been sufficiently forthcoming with the evidence they have provided. In particular, important information has only been received late in the day and after several rounds of information gathering.
Given the concerns we have about a market of such importance to millions of drivers it is vital we get to the bottom of what is going on.
Key events
Wembley wasn’t the only place to see an exciting penalty shootout last weekend.
A popular charity football match between PR executives and journalists yesterday, at AFC Wimbledon’s Plough Lane, went to spot kicks, with the hacks triumphing over the flacks.
It was the first time the grudge match has taken place since Covid, and it raised more than £10,000 for AFC Wimbledon Foundation, which helps the elderly and children in some of the most economically challenged areas of the UK.
The journos took a 2-0 lead, with the second goal created from a (doubless brilliant) cross by my colleague Richard Partington, before the match ended 2-2.
This set up a thrilling penalty shoot out which the Hacks won 9-8 (no word of any panenkas, though…..)
Guy Hands loses bid to stop UK unwinding £8bn military homes deal
Jasper Jolly
The UK government has won the right to take back control over thousands of military homes worth £8bn after a court ruled that the previous privatisation was a “bad deal” for the government, in a major blow to private equity investor Guy Hands.
London’s high court ruled on Monday that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has the right to buy back the remaining 38,000 homes, which were bought in 1996 by Annington, a group of companies ultimately controlled by Hands, for £1.7bn.
Annington immediately said it planned to appeal the decision.
MPs on parliament’s public accounts committee later described the sell-off as “disastrous for taxpayers” because it did not include clauses to give it a share of future price rises for the properties. The government missed out on as much as £4.2bn as the value of the 57,400 homes rose, the MPs said.
However, the MoD remained a leaseholder paying rents to Annington. Government lawyers advised that ministers had the right to enfranchisement, the ability to buy the freehold of leased properties. Annington had argued that the government should not have that right, and that the state was exercising its powers improperly.
Mr Justice Holgate found that there was no way to say the government’s “motive was improper” in wanting to take back the properties, as the defence secretary was “entitled to make legitimate use of such bargaining power as he has”. He wrote:
“The arrangements were and still remain a bad deal for the MoD, its [service family accommodation] estate and the public purse”.
An Annington spokesperson said:
“We are surprised and disappointed by the outcome. It risks setting a dangerous precedent for businesses and international investors in the UK and if upheld would mean that the government can disregard long-term contracts if it believes it is in its interests to do so. As we consider this to be a matter of significant public importance, we will appeal this decision.”
If the appeal were unsuccessful, the victory in the test case would allow the government to take back control of the whole estate. If it proceeds, it will pay a price decided by a court.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “We welcome the decision of the high court, which finds that the MoD acted lawfully in seeking, successfully, to establish its right to enfranchisement.
“No decision has been taken on further enfranchisement cases, but we will consider the high court’s decision and the potential implications for securing better value for money for the taxpayer.”
The judgment showed that government officials had in 2021 advised ministers to move quickly to take back the properties to because “a scenario in which MoD waited for Guy Hands to crystallise a very significant profit, walk away, and then MoD decided to exercise its rights against the new owner […] would be reputationally very damaging for MoD”.
Natasha Rees, a senior partner at Forsters, a law firm which represented the government, said:
“The high court has found that MoD does benefit from a right to enfranchise. MoD will now consider whether enfranchisement might achieve better value for money for the taxpayer. The case involved complex aspects of the law of enfranchisement, some of which had never been decided before.”
Manufacturing activity in the New York state region has slumped by the most in more than three years as orders and shipments fell abruptly.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general business conditions index dropped 42.6 points to minus 31.8 in May, data showed Monday.
Readings below zero indicate contraction and the gauge was weaker than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. More here.
Motoring body the RAC has welcomed the CMA’s warning today about motoring retailers lifting their profit margins.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said:
“We are very pleased to hear that the Competition and Markets Authority has confirmed what we have been saying for a long time about the biggest retailers taking more margin per litre on fuel than they have in the past.
Currently, the average price of diesel is more than 20p a litre overpriced simply because they refuse to cut their prices. The wholesale price of diesel is actually 4p lower than petrol, yet across the country it is being sold for 9p a litre more – 154.31p compared to 144.95p for unleaded.
“Something badly needs to change to give drivers who depend on their vehicles every day a fair deal at the pumps. We hope even better news will be forthcoming later this summer.”
Ofcom launches investigation into Royal Mail’s delivery performance
From petrol and groceries…. to post.
Ofcom, the communication’s regulator, has launched an investigation into Royal Mail’s failure to meet its delivery targets for 2022/23.
Ofcom says that Royal Mail is meant to hit several targets, including:
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delivering 93% of First Class mail within one working day of collection;
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delivering 98.5% of Second Class mail within three working days of collection; and
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completing 99.9% of delivery routes on each day that a delivery is required.
Royal Mail has missed those performance targets, by some distances, in 2022/23, Ofcom says, as it:
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delivered 73.7% of First Class mail within one working day;
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delivered 90.7% of Second Class mail within three working days; and
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completed 89.35% of delivery routes for each day on which a delivery was required.
Back in March, MPs accused Royal Mail of “systemically” failing to deliver parts of its obligations.
Last Friday its parent company, International Distributions Services, announced Royal Mail’s CEO is stepping down, after an acrimonious tussle with unions.
Explaining today’s announcement’s, Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, says:
The rising cost of living is putting people and businesses under sustained financial pressure. The CMA is determined to do what it can to ensure competition helps contain these pressures as much as possible.
Our Road Fuel market study is nearly complete. Although much of the pressure on pump prices is down to global factors including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we have found evidence that suggests weakening retail competition is contributing to higher prices for drivers at the pumps. We are also concerned about the sustained higher margins on diesel compared to petrol we have seen this year.
We are not satisfied that all the supermarkets have been sufficiently forthcoming with the evidence they have provided in our Road Fuel market study, so we will be calling them in for formal interviews to get to the bottom of what is going on. It is a priority for the CMA to publish a full and final report, including recommendations for action, by the beginning of July.
Grocery and food shopping are essential purchases. We recognise that global factors are behind many of the grocery price increases, and we have seen no evidence at this stage of specific competition problems. But, given ongoing concerns about high prices, we are stepping up our work in the grocery sector to help ensure competition is working well and people can exercise choice with confidence.
Competition watchdog steps up work on grocery sector
The UK’s competition authorities are also stepping up its work investigating the grocery sector, amid concerns that supermarkets have been hiking prices unfairly.
The CMA says it has started work looking into unit pricing practices online and instore.
So far, it has not seen evidence of competition concerns, and points out that global factors – such as the Ukraine war – have also been the main driver of grocery price increases.
But, the CMA says, it is “important to be sure that weak competition is not adding to the problems”.
So it is now intentifying its work, and focusing on the areas where people are experiencing greatest cost of living pressures.
The watchdog will:
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First, completing work to assess how competition is working overall in the grocery retail market, drawing on publicly available data and other information.
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Second, in parallel, identifying which product categories, if any, might merit closer examination across the supply chain.
The announcement comes a day before prime minister Rishi Sunak hosts a summit at Downing Street to discuss the food crisis, with ministers, farmers and industry leaders.
CMA: Supermarkets have pumped up fuel profit margins
Britain’s competition watchdog has accused motor fuel retailers, such as supermarkets, of hiking their profit margins, at the expense of motorists.
In a new update on the cost of living crisis, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warns that some “weakening of competion” in the road fuel retail market has driven up the prices paid by drivers at the pumps.
The CMA says that high pump prices cannot be solely blamed on global factors, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The CMA says:
Evidence gathered by the CMA indicates that fuel margins have increased across the retail market, but in particular for supermarkets, over the past 4 years. As a result of these increasing margins, average 2022 supermarket pump prices appear to be around 5 pence per litre more expensive than they would have been had their average percentage margins remained at 2019 levels.
Although supermarkets still tend to be the cheapest retail suppliers of fuel, evidence from internal documents indicates that at least one supermarket has significantly increased its internal forward-looking margin targets over this period. Other supermarkets have recognised this change in approach and may have adjusted their pricing behaviour accordingly.
The CMA is also concerned that competition in the diesel market has weakened this year
While some degree of variation in diesel retail margin is to be expected given the high levels of volatility in diesel wholesale prices, the high margins in 2023 appear to have gone on longer than would be expected.
The CMA needs to understand whether weaker competition is part of the explanation for this.
Last month, the RAC accused forecourt owners of charging more than necessary for diesel:
The CMA also suggests that UK supermarkets have not provided evidence to the watchdog in a timely way, saying:
Whilst the level of engagement with the study has varied across supermarkets, we are not satisfied that they have all been sufficiently forthcoming with the evidence they have provided. In particular, important information has only been received late in the day and after several rounds of information gathering.
Given the concerns we have about a market of such importance to millions of drivers it is vital we get to the bottom of what is going on.
Fed’s Bostic: We may need to go up on interest rates
In the US, Atlanta Federal Reserve president Raphael Bostic has dampened hopes that interest rates could be cut this year.
In an interview with CNBC, Bostic said he doesn’t foresee any rate cuts in 2023, even if there is a recession.
Bostic said:
“My baseline case is we won’t really be thinking about cutting until well into 2024.
“If you look at most measures of inflation, they’re still two times where our target is. And so that’s a long distance still to go.”
The coore personal consumption expenditures price index (excluding food and energy), the Fed’s preferred measure of underlying inflation, rose by 4.6% in the year to March, or more than double the Fed’s target of 2% inflation.
Bostic cautioned that he does not expect US inflation to fall as fast as market participants believe.
If anything “we may have to go up” on interest rates, Bostic suggested, adding:
“If there is going to be a bias to action, for me there would be a bias to increase a little further, as opposed to cut.”
Back in the City, shares in online fashion chain ASOS have hit their lowest level in 13 years, after several analysts downgraded their estimates for the company.
ASOS’s shares are down 16% at 424p, the lowest since February 2010.
The selloff came after JP Morgan cut its target price for ASOS to 610p, from £10.
Last week, ASOS reported a £291m pre-tax loss, and a 10% slump in UK sales in the six months to the end of February, much worse than expected.
The £291m pre-tax loss, against a £16m loss a year before, came after writing down more than £100m on unwanted stock as Asos focused on a narrow range of products and tried to update its fashions more quickly.
European factories had a surprisingly weak March, new data today suggests.
Eurozone industrial production shrank by 4.1% during March, reversing a 1.5% rise in February, and rather worse than the 2.5% fall expected.
ING’s Bert Colijn says most major economies posted “significant declines in production”, with output also pulled down by “a curious decline in Ireland”.
Colijn says:
The decline in March (following a 1.5% rise in February) brings industrial production back to the lowest reading since October 2021.
This is in large part related to a huge drop in the Irish “computer, electronics and optical products” industry, which saw production drop by more than 50% in March. This industry is generally volatile and therefore tends to overstate the trend.
Moody’s Analytics senior economist, Kamil Kovar, is hopeful that eurozone fatory output will soon jump, and says the ‘“grim” 4.1% drop in production paints a misleading picture.
This series showed a lot of volatility of late, and hence the decline is likely be reversed in next month.
Similarly, a more measured decline in car production this month is likely to be reversed in coming months. Overall, we expect large jump in industrial production next month, followed by moderate growth during spring months.”
Elon Musk meets Emmanuel Macron in Paris
Over in Paris, Elon Musk has held a meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron today, alongside a gathering of global business leaders.
Macron is hoping to win a record amount of foreign investment pledges at the annual Choose France summit in Versailles today.
The French president, who has faced weeks of protests over his push to raise the retirement age, is pushing his pro-business reform drive and also focusing on low carbon industries, such as electric vehicles.
The two men were to talk about the “attractiveness of France and its industries”, Macron’s office said.
AFP report that Musk smiled and waved at reporters as the meeting at the Elysee Palace got underway but made no comment.
Reuters has more details:
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, met Macron at his official residence the Elysee Palace. Sat opposite Macron in one of the French president’s gilded offices, Musk, clad in a black suit, joked that he had to “sleep in the car” in remarks caught on camera before their meeting.
Over lunch at Versailles later, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire will pitch to Musk new tax credits for investments in green technology that Macron made public last week, the finance ministry told Reuters.
The pound is nudging back towards its highest level in over a year today.
Sterling has gained half a cent against the US dollar this morning, at $1.2505, closer to the 12-month high of $1.2679 set last week.
The pound is benefiting from growing hopes that the UK economy will avoid recession, and expectations that UK interest rates will rise at least once more this year.
Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury, says:
“The pound should remain well supported in the coming weeks. A cheap valuation and a relatively hawkish Bank of England should remain tailwinds, and sterling does not have the same positioning issues that the euro suffers from in the short-term.”
We also have promising signs that Europe’s inflationary squeeze is ebbing.
The wholesale prices charged by producers across Germany fell by 0.5% on a year-on-year basis in April, the first annual decrease since December 2020. They dropped by 0.4% on a monthly basis too.
Statistics body Destatis reports that the year-on-year decrease was mainly due to a 15.7% drop in mineral oil product prices.
Scrap and residual materials (-31,5 %), cereals, raw tobacco, seeds and feedstuff (-25.2%), ores, metals and semi-finished metal products (-20.5%) and chemical products (-5.4%) were also cheaper than a year ago.
But other prices continued to rise – including the wholesale cost of fruit, vegetables and potatoes, which was 22% higher than a year ago.
Building materials and elements (+13.9%) and living animals (+11.4%) also cost notably more than in April 2022.
In the UK property sector, the average monthly rent on a newly-let property outside London has risen past £1,000 for the first time, data from estate agents Hamptons shows.
While many renters in the capital will be used to handing over four figures a month on rent, this is a new milestone (or possibly millstone) for the rest of the country.
Bloomberg reports:
The average monthly rent on a newly let home outside of London surpassed £1,000 for the first time in April, according to a report from broker Hamptons International. That’s almost 8% higher than the same month last year, piling more pressure on tenants in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.
“With rents on the open market rising quickly, tenants will face the choice of staying put or moving to a smaller home in a more affordable area,” said Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons. “While anyone choosing to sit tight tends to face smaller rental increases than those moving home, they are not immune.”
Full story: European economy expected to grow faster than forecast
Europe’s economy is expected to grow faster than previously thought this year and next, despite high inflation and rising interest rates, according to the European Commission.
The commission said the EU’s 27 members would grow at an average of 1% in 2023, up from a previous estimate of 0.8%. It nudged its forecast for growth in 2024 to 1.7% from 1.6%.
The eurozone’s 20 members are expected to grow by 1.1% on average and 1.6% next year, my colleague Phillip Inman writes.
By comparison, the UK economy is expected to be weaker, with growth of 0.25% expected this year and 0.75% in 2024, according to the Bank of England.
More here.
European financial markets have mainly pushed higher this morning, helped by optimism over the economic outlook.
In London the FTSE 100 has hit its highest level in almost a week, up 37 points or 0.5% at 7792 points. Mining companies and banks are among the risers.
France’s CAC has also gained 0.5%, while Germany’s DAX is 0.2% higher.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, says:
European indices have edged up on the open, with the FTSE 100 given a leg up after the dollar has strengthened, making the overseas earnings of multinational listings worth more.
The pound has fallen back to $1.24 against the dollar, although it has strengthened very slightly. Investors appear to have run back into the greenback’s safe-haven arms as sentiment has been knocked about global growth prospects.
This was not helped by a bleaker assessment of America’s prospects by consumers on Friday, as captured by the University of Michigan survey. Anxieties are colliding about the effect of high interest rates, combined with worries about the banking sector and now a potential US default as the debt ceiling deadline looms.
The whipsaw in sentiment may continue this week with the US retail sales snapshot due out tomorrow. Although a recovery may help ease some concerns about falling optimism, it could also increase expectations that the Fed might be forced to hike interest rates further.
Summarize this content to 100 words CMA: Supermarkets have pumped up fuel profit marginsBritain’s competition watchdog has accused motor fuel retailers, such as supermarkets, of hiking their profit margins, at the expense of motorists.In a new update on the cost of living crisis, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warns that some “weakening of competion” in the road fuel retail market has driven up the prices paid by drivers at the pumps.The CMA says that high pump prices cannot be solely blamed on global factors, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The CMA says: Evidence gathered by the CMA indicates that fuel margins have increased across the retail market, but in particular for supermarkets, over the past 4 years. As a result of these increasing margins, average 2022 supermarket pump prices appear to be around 5 pence per litre more expensive than they would have been had their average percentage margins remained at 2019 levels. Although supermarkets still tend to be the cheapest retail suppliers of fuel, evidence from internal documents indicates that at least one supermarket has significantly increased its internal forward-looking margin targets over this period. Other supermarkets have recognised this change in approach and may have adjusted their pricing behaviour accordingly. The CMA is also concerned that competition in the diesel market has weakened this year While some degree of variation in diesel retail margin is to be expected given the high levels of volatility in diesel wholesale prices, the high margins in 2023 appear to have gone on longer than would be expected. The CMA needs to understand whether weaker competition is part of the explanation for this. Last month, the RAC accused forecourt owners of charging more than necessary for diesel:The CMA also suggests that UK supermarkets have not provided evidence to the watchdog in a timely way, saying: Whilst the level of engagement with the study has varied across supermarkets, we are not satisfied that they have all been sufficiently forthcoming with the evidence they have provided. In particular, important information has only been received late in the day and after several rounds of information gathering. Given the concerns we have about a market of such importance to millions of drivers it is vital we get to the bottom of what is going on. Key eventsWembley wasn’t the only place to see an exciting penalty shootout last weekend.A popular charity football match between PR executives and journalists yesterday, at AFC Wimbledon’s Plough Lane, went to spot kicks, with the hacks triumphing over the flacks.It was the first time the grudge match has taken place since Covid, and it raised more than £10,000 for AFC Wimbledon Foundation, which helps the elderly and children in some of the most economically challenged areas of the UK.The journos took a 2-0 lead, with the second goal created from a (doubless brilliant) cross by my colleague Richard Partington, before the match ended 2-2.This set up a thrilling penalty shoot out which the Hacks won 9-8 (no word of any panenkas, though…..)What a day. I’ve done my leg, but great to get the 2-2 draw after full time (don’t mention the penalties)! Thanks to all who organised it.— stu jackson (@flackhackjack) May 14, 2023Guy Hands loses bid to stop UK unwinding £8bn military homes dealJasper JollyThe UK government has won the right to take back control over thousands of military homes worth £8bn after a court ruled that the previous privatisation was a “bad deal” for the government, in a major blow to private equity investor Guy Hands.London’s high court ruled on Monday that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has the right to buy back the remaining 38,000 homes, which were bought in 1996 by Annington, a group of companies ultimately controlled by Hands, for £1.7bn.Annington immediately said it planned to appeal the decision.MPs on parliament’s public accounts committee later described the sell-off as “disastrous for taxpayers” because it did not include clauses to give it a share of future price rises for the properties. The government missed out on as much as £4.2bn as the value of the 57,400 homes rose, the MPs said.However, the MoD remained a leaseholder paying rents to Annington. Government lawyers advised that ministers had the right to enfranchisement, the ability to buy the freehold of leased properties. Annington had argued that the government should not have that right, and that the state was exercising its powers improperly.Mr Justice Holgate found that there was no way to say the government’s “motive was improper” in wanting to take back the properties, as the defence secretary was “entitled to make legitimate use of such bargaining power as he has”. He wrote: “The arrangements were and still remain a bad deal for the MoD, its [service family accommodation] estate and the public purse”. An Annington spokesperson said: “We are surprised and disappointed by the outcome. It risks setting a dangerous precedent for businesses and international investors in the UK and if upheld would mean that the government can disregard long-term contracts if it believes it is in its interests to do so. As we consider this to be a matter of significant public importance, we will appeal this decision.” If the appeal were unsuccessful, the victory in the test case would allow the government to take back control of the whole estate. If it proceeds, it will pay a price decided by a court.A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “We welcome the decision of the high court, which finds that the MoD acted lawfully in seeking, successfully, to establish its right to enfranchisement.“No decision has been taken on further enfranchisement cases, but we will consider the high court’s decision and the potential implications for securing better value for money for the taxpayer.”The judgment showed that government officials had in 2021 advised ministers to move quickly to take back the properties to because “a scenario in which MoD waited for Guy Hands to crystallise a very significant profit, walk away, and then MoD decided to exercise its rights against the new owner […] would be reputationally very damaging for MoD”.Natasha Rees, a senior partner at Forsters, a law firm which represented the government, said: “The high court has found that MoD does benefit from a right to enfranchise. MoD will now consider whether enfranchisement might achieve better value for money for the taxpayer. The case involved complex aspects of the law of enfranchisement, some of which had never been decided before.” Manufacturing activity in the New York state region has slumped by the most in more than three years as orders and shipments fell abruptly.The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general business conditions index dropped 42.6 points to minus 31.8 in May, data showed Monday.Readings below zero indicate contraction and the gauge was weaker than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. More here.A gauge of New York state manufacturing activity slumped in May by the most in more than three years as orders and shipments shrank abruptly https://t.co/Sinbq5Zq6f— Bloomberg (@business) May 15, 2023 Motoring body the RAC has welcomed the CMA’s warning today about motoring retailers lifting their profit margins.RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “We are very pleased to hear that the Competition and Markets Authority has confirmed what we have been saying for a long time about the biggest retailers taking more margin per litre on fuel than they have in the past. Currently, the average price of diesel is more than 20p a litre overpriced simply because they refuse to cut their prices. The wholesale price of diesel is actually 4p lower than petrol, yet across the country it is being sold for 9p a litre more – 154.31p compared to 144.95p for unleaded. “Something badly needs to change to give drivers who depend on their vehicles every day a fair deal at the pumps. We hope even better news will be forthcoming later this summer.” Ofcom launches investigation into Royal Mail’s delivery performanceFrom petrol and groceries…. to post.Ofcom, the communication’s regulator, has launched an investigation into Royal Mail’s failure to meet its delivery targets for 2022/23.Ofcom says that Royal Mail is meant to hit several targets, including: delivering 93% of First Class mail within one working day of collection; delivering 98.5% of Second Class mail within three working days of collection; and completing 99.9% of delivery routes on each day that a delivery is required. Royal Mail has missed those performance targets, by…
https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2023/may/15/uk-avoid-recession-currys-profit-outlook-europe-forecasts-turkey-lira-business-live Petrol and diesel retailers fuelling cost of living crisis with higher profit margins, says CMA – business live | Business