The Post Office has announced its proposed franchise operator for three Humberside-area branches, including in Bransholme and Bridlington.
Last year, the Post Office put over a hundred Crown-owned branches under consideration for closure or franchising. Under the latter, a branch remains a Post Office service, but day-to-day run by a different company.
Last month, it confirmed its intention to franchise all remaining 108 directly managed branches. On May 28, it announced proposed franchisees for 56 sites, including in Bransholme’s North Point Shopping Centre and Bridlington.
These would all operate from the same premises as they currently are located, while long-term arrangements are finalised. The same opening hours would also be kept. Richard Fleetwood Ltd (RF Retail) has been selected to run the Bransholme, Bridlington and Grimsby branches.
RF Retail opened its first store in North East England in September 2020. Richard Fleetwood, the third generation of postmasters, heads it. He has himself 21 years experience in retail and the Post Office. His granddad and dad both ran branches, and his mother has had several senior roles managing Post Offices across the UK.
It currently runs six Post Office branches and six banking hubs. The retail side of Mr Fleetwood’s shops are called Olive stores, named after his grandmother. The Humberside branches RF Retail would take over comprise:
- Bransholme – 51A Goodhart Road, Bransholme, HU7 4JF.
- Bridlington – 15-17 Quay Road, Bridlington, YO15 2AA.
- Grimsby – 67-71 Victoria Street, Grimsby, DN31 1AA.
Customer notification posters will arrive at the individual branches to be displayed, and local stakeholders are being informed of the proposed plans for their individual branch. A transfer over of all directly managed branches to franchises by autumn 2025 has been previously stated.
The Post Office has said it has focused on selecting candidates to run the last directly managed branches that have a clear prior track record of successfully running such sites. RF Retail will have had its business plans, balance sheet strength and funding availability assessed as part of the franchise application process.
“Moving to a fully franchised network is one part of enabling the Post Office to deliver a ‘New Deal for Postmasters’, helping to create a long-term, sustainable future for the Post Office,” said a Post Office spokesperson.
Announced in 2024, the ‘New Deal’ would see an extra £250m a year in postmaster remuneration by 2030. The spokesperson added: “Our proposed franchise plans mean branches will continue to operate from the same premises while the long-term permanent proposal is confirmed, with customers being able to continue accessing the same products and services with the same opening hours.”
Post Office Chair Nigel Railton has previously stated moving the last directly managed branches to a franchise model would protect access for services to communities, and produce £40m in savings. This would help contribute to raising postmaster pay levels.
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