Britain’s reliance on reliable post for everything from small business invoices to legal documents is being tested again after Royal Mail reported another year of missed delivery targets, prompting fresh regulatory scrutiny and growing frustration among customers.
In the 12 months to the end of March, just 75.7% of first-class mail was delivered on time, far below the regulator’s 93% target. Second-class performance also fell short, with 90.2% delivered within three working days against a 98.5% benchmark. The figures mark a further deterioration from the previous year, when Royal Mail achieved 76.9% for first-class and 92.2% for second-class deliveries.
The data represents the first full-year performance since ownership passed to EP Group, led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, following its £3.6bn takeover completed last spring. Rather than improvement, the numbers suggest continued stagnation in service reliability, extending a slump that began during the pandemic.
The communications regulator Ofcom said it was “very concerned” by the results and is preparing to open a formal investigation into the postal operator as early as next week. That step could lead to another financial penalty, adding to last year’s £21m fine.
Royal Mail has not met its first-class delivery target for a decade and has not achieved its second-class benchmark for six years. Despite repeated restructuring efforts, performance has remained stubbornly below expectations.
Chief operating officer Jamie Stephenson acknowledged the shortfall and said the company was investing £500m in a long-term improvement programme. He said Royal Mail is aiming to meet revised, lower targets of 90% for first-class and 95% for second-class deliveries by next year.
“We’re putting significant investment into improving reliability and reaching these new delivery targets, but delivering lasting change across a network of this scale takes time,” he said.
The overhaul includes operational changes such as longer working hours for part-time postal staff and the removal of second-class Saturday deliveries, adjustments agreed with Ofcom as part of a broader reform package.
For Britain’s 5.5 million small and medium-sized businesses, delays are more than an inconvenience. Many still depend on physical mail for payments, contracts and regulatory correspondence, meaning late deliveries can directly affect cash flow and compliance deadlines.
Tom MacInnes, policy director at Citizens Advice, criticised the ongoing performance issues, saying Royal Mail’s poor service had become routine and warning that customers were now being told to wait even longer for improved standards.
Tensions have also surfaced over internal priorities, with postal workers previously reporting that parcel deliveries were being prioritised over letters due to higher profit margins. Royal Mail has denied that letter services are being deprioritised.
The broader challenge facing the company is structural. Letter volumes have collapsed from around 20 billion items two decades ago to roughly 6.6 billion last year, putting pressure on the economics of the universal service.
As Ofcom weighs tougher action and Royal Mail continues its turnaround plan, the question remains whether increased investment and relaxed targets will be enough to restore confidence in a service that many businesses still depend on daily.
