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Details of the report were unveiled earlier this week by business secretary Lord Mandelson in a speech to the House of Lords.

The report’s core conclusions are:
- Royal Mail is untenable in its current antiquated form
- That up to a third of Royal Mail would be sold to new partners
- Ofcom should take over regulation of the postal services from Postcomm
- That the universal service is not feasible without serious reform of Royal Mail.

David Robottom, managing director of D&S Consultants said an external partnership for Royal Mail was good news for the direct marketing industry.

"The key issue that the report identifies is the need for a strong Royal Mail with a sustainable future. A partnership is not a new idea. Other European countries have introduced similar ideas and improved overall efficiency."

TNT is tipped as the likeliest successful bidder for part-ownership of Royal Mail.

Part-privatisation of Royal Mail could create an opportunity to re-structure the pricing system for business users of mail, according to Graham Cooper, managing director of One Post.

Cooper believes the proposals give Royal Mail the chance to introduce a different type of mail product more able to compete with other media. "A separate pricing tariff for businesses has been discussed before but this could be the time to re-visit that," he said.

Lord Mandelson called the report a 'package' of measures to be implemented together. The report recognised the many challenges facing Royal Mail, including changing technology and competing media. ??

But Derek Fairhurst, managing director of PostalAudits, said the proposed reforms would be resisted by the unions. "The Government will face real resistance from unions. Royal Mail's ability to seriously reduce its costs is always compromised by union relationships, and this has been clearly demonstrated by the industrial action seen over recent years." he said.?
He added that Royal Mail is under enormous pressure from reduced mail volumes and the loss of large business contracts to rivals. He said businesses could seek alternatives to post if the Hooper Report’s proposed changes cause too much 'turbulence'.