The Post Office has confirmed that the last remaining 108 Directly Managed Branches (DMBs), including eight sites in Scotland, will be franchised by the autumn.
The affected sites are:
- Edinburgh City – Waverley Mall, Edinburgh
- Glasgow – West Nile Street, Glasgow
- Haddington – Court Street, Haddington, East Lothian
- Inverness – Queensgate, Inverness
- Kirkwall – Junction Road, Kirkwall, Orkney
- Saltcoats – Chapelwell Street, Saltcoats, N. Ayrshire
- Springburn Way – Springburn Way, Glasgow
- Wester Hailes – Westside Plaza, Edinburgh
In November 2024, the Post Office announced its five-year Transformation Plan to deliver a ‘New Deal for Postmasters’. Subject to Government funding to enable the Post Office to deliver its plan, Postmaster remuneration will increase by an additional £250m a year by 2030.
The Post Office confirmed in November that the future of its DMB network would be under review. It claimed that DMBs generate a fully allocated loss (including central and support costs) of over £40m each year.
Following consultation with unions and reviewing options with the Postmaster Consultative Council, a decision was taken by the Post Office Board to move to a fully franchised network in order to help fund increases in the remuneration Postmasters receive.
Nigel Railton, Post Office Chair, said:
“Moving to a fully franchised network is one part of enabling the Post Office to deliver a ‘New Deal for Postmasters’, helping to create a long-term, sustainable future for the Post Office. By franchising these branches, we are protecting access to our services for communities right across the UK and realising £40 million worth of savings that will enable us to uplift postmasters’ remuneration by up to 10%.
“Over the coming months, we will continue to work with our unions to ensure that we treat our staff working in these 108 branches with care and respect through this transition, consulting with them on proposed changes. The 108 Post Offices will either stay in the same location where possible or be located close to the existing location, meaning customers will continue to have access to a full suite of products and services.”
The Post Office remains committed to meeting the current requirement to have a minimum of 11,500 branches across the UK and to meet the six Access Criteria set by Government.
- Retailers considering a post office franchise can find out more at: https://runapostoffice.co.uk/
