Business strategy consulting firm Boston Consulting Group has developed a measure of how level the addressed mail market playing field is in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, which are each subject to a different regulatory regime.
Boston found that the UK had the lowest score for favourable conditions for a new entrant using an access model, serving large volume clients and seeking to develop its own end-to-end delivery network. It scored 0-11 out of a maximum 100, compared with Germany's 10-30 and the Netherlands' 71-81.
The UK scored badly due to its disparity in VAT treatment (Royal Mail services are VAT exempt whereas other operators services are not); its low regulatory price caps, which restrict profitable development of an end-to-end network; and its licensing system, which causes delays in market entry.
TNT subsidiary TNT Mail has been operating in the UK addressed mail market since August 2004, when its access agreement with Royal Mail went live. Its clients include BSkyB, Lloyds TSB and Npower.
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