Postal Services Act 2011

69 Objective of a postal administration

(1) The objective of a postal administration is to secure—

(a) that a universal postal service is provided in accordance with the standards set out in the universal postal service order, and

(b) that it becomes unnecessary, by one or both of the following means, for the postal administration order to remain in force for that purpose.

(2) Those means are—

(a) the rescue as a going concern of the company subject to the order, and

(b) relevant transfers.

(3) A transfer is a “relevant” transfer if it is a transfer as a going concern—

(a) to another company, or

(b) as respects different parts of the undertaking of the company subject to the order, to two or more different companies,

of so much of that undertaking as it is appropriate to transfer for the purpose of achieving the objective of the postal administration.

(4) The means by which relevant transfers may be effected include, in particular—

(a) a transfer of the undertaking of the company subject to the order, or of a part of its undertaking, to a wholly-owned subsidiary of that company, and

(b) a transfer to a company of securities of a wholly-owned subsidiary to which there has been a transfer within paragraph (a).

In this subsection “wholly-owned subsidiary” has the meaning given by section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006.

(5) The objective of a postal administration may be achieved by relevant transfers to the extent only that—

(a) the rescue as a going concern of the company is not reasonably practicable or is not reasonably practicable without the transfers,

(b) the rescue of the company as a going concern will not achieve the objective of the postal administration or will not do so without the transfers,

(c) the transfers would produce a result for the company’s creditors as a whole that is better than the result that would be produced without them, or

(d) the transfers would, without prejudicing the interests of the company’s creditors as a whole, produce a result for the company’s members as a whole that is better than the result that would be produced without them.