Daniel Křetínský, the billionaire with a 22% stake in the Royal Mail group, never says much – thus his nickname “the Czech Sphinx” – but he picks his moments. On the eve of the first strike at the postal service since privatisation in 2013, he has been revealed to be planning to increase his shareholding.
We know this only because Kwasi Kwarteng’s department told us. In the formal language, the business secretary “reasonably suspects that arrangements are in progress or contemplation” that would lift Křetínský’s stake above 25%. Thus the planned purchase will be reviewed under the new National Security and Investment Act because Royal Mail, as we were reminded during the long months of Covid lockdowns, is still a critical piece of national kit.
