Royal Mail sell-off in the post as £3bn deal mooted for Urenco
Government poised to offload several major assets, starting with some or all of its £3bn stake in Urenco nuclear fuel firm
Urenco stake sale –
Gordon Brown's government proposed a £16bn sale of assets, but David
Cameron rejected the move when he took office. Photograph: Getty Images
Trade unions have vowed to combat the looming privatisation of Royal Mail
as the government kickstarted a series of multibillion-pound sell-offs
by announcing plans to sell the state's £3bn stake in the uranium
enrichment company Urenco.
The general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, which represents 53 trade unions and nearly 6 million union members across the UK, said the government could not fool people into believing that a Royal Mail sell-off is in the public interest.
"The British public are overwhelmingly against privatisation," Frances O'Grady told the annual conference of the Communication Workers Union. "Royal Mail has already modernised and the service is now more stable than at any point in a decade, but they want to wreck it. Let us say to the government, our Royal Mail is not for sale."
Ministers believe several assets are ripe for sale now stock markets have returned to their pre-crash peaks, and investors are ready to make long-term commitments after two years of turmoil in the eurozone. The Royal Mail is the most contentious candidate for a sell-off or flotation, with a stock market offering the most likely option in the autumn, a move that would value the business at up to £3bn. The Student Loans Company is also going under the hammer, with a deal expected by next April. The government is also working on a sell-off of blood plasma supplier Plasma Resources UK, which could be worth up to £200m.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) launched the first of the wave of privatisations on Monday by announcing plans to dispose of "some or all" of its 33% stake in Urenco, the world's second-largest provider of nuclear fuel.
Urenco, based in Capenhurst, near Chester, and with three other plants in Germany, the Netherlands and the US, claims to provide 31% of the world's enriched uranium for nuclear power. The company is estimated to be worth €10bn (£8.6bn).
There had been speculation this year that the Dutch government was preparing to sell its stake, but a deal failed to materialise.
Playing down concerns of a fire sale, BIS said it would consider interest from potential buyers before pressing ahead. "The decision to proceed towards a sale comes after the government secured agreement from its Dutch and German partners," the department said.
The scale and timing of any sale had not been decided. "Any sale will only be concluded if the government is satisfied that the UK's security and nonproliferation interests can be protected and that value for money is achieved for the UK taxpayer," it said.
A government official told the Guardian that any deal to sell the stake in Urenco would have no implications for national security. The official said: "Any sale would not give a new shareholder rights to access sensitive nuclear information, technology or material, or allow the company to act in a manner which would be contrary to our security and non-proliferation interests."
Ministers are also adamant that any sale will not have an adverse impact on the UK's programme to build a new fleet of nuclear reactors. The official said: "We do not expect any potential deal to have implications for nuclear new build and the UK remains fully committed to the new nuclear agenda."
One industry source suggested that a sale to French nuclear group Areva could even improve the prospects for nuclear development in the UK, as the company has a vested interest in selling equipment and expertise for the UK's programme.
Other buyers for the stake reportedly include the reactor builder Westinghouse, the Canadian uranium producer Cameco Corp, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Other assets regarded as potentially ready for privatisation include Companies House, the Land Registry, the Met Office and Ordnance Survey.
Md . Shane Haider
PGDM 2nd Sem
The general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, which represents 53 trade unions and nearly 6 million union members across the UK, said the government could not fool people into believing that a Royal Mail sell-off is in the public interest.
"The British public are overwhelmingly against privatisation," Frances O'Grady told the annual conference of the Communication Workers Union. "Royal Mail has already modernised and the service is now more stable than at any point in a decade, but they want to wreck it. Let us say to the government, our Royal Mail is not for sale."
Ministers believe several assets are ripe for sale now stock markets have returned to their pre-crash peaks, and investors are ready to make long-term commitments after two years of turmoil in the eurozone. The Royal Mail is the most contentious candidate for a sell-off or flotation, with a stock market offering the most likely option in the autumn, a move that would value the business at up to £3bn. The Student Loans Company is also going under the hammer, with a deal expected by next April. The government is also working on a sell-off of blood plasma supplier Plasma Resources UK, which could be worth up to £200m.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) launched the first of the wave of privatisations on Monday by announcing plans to dispose of "some or all" of its 33% stake in Urenco, the world's second-largest provider of nuclear fuel.
Urenco, based in Capenhurst, near Chester, and with three other plants in Germany, the Netherlands and the US, claims to provide 31% of the world's enriched uranium for nuclear power. The company is estimated to be worth €10bn (£8.6bn).
There had been speculation this year that the Dutch government was preparing to sell its stake, but a deal failed to materialise.
Playing down concerns of a fire sale, BIS said it would consider interest from potential buyers before pressing ahead. "The decision to proceed towards a sale comes after the government secured agreement from its Dutch and German partners," the department said.
The scale and timing of any sale had not been decided. "Any sale will only be concluded if the government is satisfied that the UK's security and nonproliferation interests can be protected and that value for money is achieved for the UK taxpayer," it said.
A government official told the Guardian that any deal to sell the stake in Urenco would have no implications for national security. The official said: "Any sale would not give a new shareholder rights to access sensitive nuclear information, technology or material, or allow the company to act in a manner which would be contrary to our security and non-proliferation interests."
Ministers are also adamant that any sale will not have an adverse impact on the UK's programme to build a new fleet of nuclear reactors. The official said: "We do not expect any potential deal to have implications for nuclear new build and the UK remains fully committed to the new nuclear agenda."
One industry source suggested that a sale to French nuclear group Areva could even improve the prospects for nuclear development in the UK, as the company has a vested interest in selling equipment and expertise for the UK's programme.
Other buyers for the stake reportedly include the reactor builder Westinghouse, the Canadian uranium producer Cameco Corp, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Other assets regarded as potentially ready for privatisation include Companies House, the Land Registry, the Met Office and Ordnance Survey.
Md . Shane Haider
PGDM 2nd Sem
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