Continued expansion of international platform for mail logistics

Deutsche Post subsidiary Williams Lea has acquired The Stationery Office, an English company with its headquarters in London. The Stationery Office provides print and document management services mainly for British governmental institutions and national organisations. The Stationery Office is the market leader in the public sector and has excellent relations with the public authorities. Combined with Williams Lea's experience for complete communication solutions, Deutsche Post sees this as an outstanding platform to optimise profit from the increasing trend of outsourcing in the public sector.

The Stationery Office acquisition strengthens Williams Lea's position as global leader for the management of corporate information. Williams Lea has continually expanded international business over the past few years. The company was able to break into the markets in the USA and in Asia-Pacific and win new customers for its comprehensive internal and external communication solutions.

"Increasingly, our international customers are seeking mail value-added services. With Williams Lea, Deutsche Post has created an excellent international platform to meet these customer requests," says Dr Hans-Peter Petram, responsible for Mail Germany and International on the Group Board of Management. "At the same time, Deutsche Post is developing new areas of business to counter possible effects when the exclusive licence in Germany expires.

The Stationery Office, which has approx. 600 employees, recorded in 2005 a turnover of almost EUR 100 million. Customers include the British Parliament (House of Commons and House of Lords), the Office of Public Sector Information and the Office of Government Commerce. The Stationery Office prints, distributes and sells legislation, minutes and brochures both on paper and electronically.

At the start of the year, Deutsche Post World Net bought the majority share in Williams Lea (est. 1820), a company with a long tradition. In 2005, Williams Lea, which has over 7,000 employees, recorded a turnover of approximately EUR 650 million. Only recently, Williams Lea opened a state-of-the-art centre for mail and document solutions in Norwich, Great Britain.

Deutsche Post World Net is already in an excellent position on the international mail markets. As the leading full-service provider in international mail logistics, the Group offers its customers around the world quality mail solutions across the value chain. From direct marketing advice, printing and document management, to sorting and franking, to international transport and delivery.

In cross-border mail business, Deutsche Post World Net has direct links in more than 200 countries. It is also taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the global liberalisation of postal markets. With the DHL Global Mail brand, Deutsche Post World Net is already represented on a host of national postal markets such as in the USA, Japan, the Netherlands, Great Britain, France and Spain.