Royal Mail deal was poor value, MPs complain
A commitment of MPs has slammed the controversial Royal Mail sell-off, finding it was undervalued by up to 1bn.
Taxpayers will also miss out on millions from the future sale of property assets.
The report by the Business, Innovation and Skills select committee also concluded that advice given to the government ahead of the sale wasn’t up to scratch, a particularly damning claim as advisers, including investment bank Lazard, made money out of the deal when their asset management arms bought shares.
Chair Adrian Bailey MP said: “This was the most significant privatisation in years. We believe that fear of failure and poor quality advice led to a significant underestimate of the demand for Royal Mail shares.” Business secretary Vince Cable has launched a probe into the sale.