Postal Services Act 2000

The Post Office company etc: government holdings

63 Government holding in the Post Office company and certain subsidiaries

(1) The Post Office company or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries shall issue such securities of the company or subsidiary concerned as the Secretary of State may direct.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), any such securities shall, as the Secretary of State may direct, be issued to the Treasury or the Secretary of State.

(3) If the Secretary of State gives a direction under subsection (1) for the purpose of requiring an issue of shares or share rights for which prior approval has been given in accordance with section 67, the shares or share rights concerned shall be issued to the person approved for that purpose in accordance with that section.

(4) If the Secretary of State gives a direction under subsection (1) for the purpose of requiring a relevant subsidiary to issue shares or share rights in it to the Post Office company or to another relevant subsidiary of which it is a subsidiary, the shares or share rights concerned shall be issued to the Post Office company or (as the case may be) to the other relevant subsidiary.

(5) The Secretary of State shall not give a direction under this section without the consent of the Treasury or at a time when the Post Office company is not wholly owned by the Crown.

(6) Securities to be issued in pursuance of this section shall be issued at such time or times, and (subject to subsection (7)) on such terms, as the Secretary of State may direct.

(7) Any shares issued in pursuance of this section—

(a) shall be of such nominal value as the Secretary of State may direct, and

(b) shall be issued as fully paid and treated for the purposes of the [1985 c. 6.] Companies Act 1985 or the [S.I. 1986/1032 (N.I. 6).] Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 as if they had been paid up by virtue of payment of their nominal value in cash.

(8) In this Part “relevant subsidiary” means any subsidiary of the Post Office company which—

(a) delivers relevant postal packets in the United Kingdom,

(b) collects relevant postal packets from access points in the United Kingdom,

(c) receives, sorts or conveys relevant postal packets in the United Kingdom, or

(d) provides a registered post service in the United Kingdom,

and any other subsidiary of the Post Office company which holds shares or share rights in, or is connected to, any such subsidiary.

(9) For the purposes of subsection (8), a subsidiary of the Post Office company is connected to another such subsidiary which falls within any of paragraphs (a) to (d) of that subsection (“the operating subsidiary”) if it forms part of a chain of subsidiaries of the Post Office company which leads to the operating subsidiary and which is identified by the fact that each member of the chain holds shares or share rights in the next subsidiary in the chain.

(10) In subsection (8) “access point” and “relevant postal packets” have the same meaning as in section 4.

64 Government investment in securities of the Post Office company and its subsidiaries

(1) The Treasury or, with the consent of the Treasury, the Secretary of State may at any time acquire securities of the Post Office company or of any of its subsidiaries.

(2) The Secretary of State shall not, without the consent of the Treasury, dispose of any securities acquired by him in pursuance of this section.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to any disposal which is excepted from subsection (1) or (2) of section 66 by virtue of subsection (3) or (5) of that section.