RM investors struggle to cash in

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Royal Mail investors struggle to cash in as sellers swamp official trading service

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Share dealers Equiniti overloaded as thousands rush to book £300-plus profit on privatised firm's first official day of trading

Thousands of Royal Mail investors have been unable to sell their shares after the government's official trading service struggled under the pressure of tens of thousands of people trying to cash in their stakes, which have increased in value by 44%.

Investors who bought their shares directly from the government have struggled to place sell orders with the official Equiniti share-dealing service over the phone and others have yet to receive official notification required to sell online.

One investor trying to sell the 227 shares he was allocated in the flotation said he had redialled the 0845 268-8405 number "about 100 times" but been unable to get through.

Another investor tweeted: "Your phone lines are engaged and have been for hours. Online trade requires code sent through post (2days)."

Also on Twitter, another investor said: "Took me 400 attempts to get through to #equiniti Royal Mail sale line. Price dropped 12p in the 1 1/2 hours it took. #arseholes."

A spokesman for Equiniti said the company's phone lines had been swamped by sellers and apologised to people who had experienced difficulties. He said the company was urgently trying to fix the problem.

The government has warned that it could take up to 48 hours for emails detailing share allocations to be sent to all of the 690,000 investors who bought 227 shares in the flotation. Details in the emails are required for online selling.

Some investors are desperate to cash in their shares, which have soared in value by more than £300 since Friday.

Royal Mail shares hit a high of 490p in early trading on Tuesday, a 48% increase on the government's 330p flotation price. The shares, which had already risen in conditional trading on Friday and Monday, settled at 478p at 2pm.

The spike in the share price means that 227 shares bought from the government for £749.10, the allocation to each of the 690,000 retail investors, are now worth about £1,090 – a £340 increase.

More than 20m shares had changed hands before 2pm, but this was significantly less than the 100m traded in the first hour on Friday, when those who bought via a broker could start selling their shares.

Stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown was so overwhelmed with demand on Friday that its website crashed and phone lines were jammed.

The Bristol-based brokerage said it was "very busy" again on Tuesday but its service was back to normal.

David Jones, chief market strategist at spread-betting firm IG Index, said about half of the shares traded on Tuesday were sold by retail investors.

Jones said many of the buyers were wealthy individuals who failed to buy any Royal Mail shares after the government decided to block applications from anyone who ordered more than £10,000 in shares. "The most active [buyers] are high net worth clients who missed out on the allocations they wanted," he said.

The further surge in the share price, which values Royal Mail at £4.8bn compared with the government's maximum £3.3bn valuation, has fuelled accusations that the government sold off the 500-year-old company too cheaply.

Adrian Bailey, the Labour chair of the business department select committee, said the share price surge "vindicated" concerns the committee raised when it questioned the business secretary, Vince Cable, last week.

"At the meeting last week it's fair to say that members of the committee had one view and the secretary of state had another," Bailey said. "The share price movements have vindicated the concerns of the committee members. Let's see where the price settles."

Bailey said the committee will also question Lazard, the investment bank that advised the government on how much to sell the shares.

Michael Fallon, the business minister in charge of the privatisation, and Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, joined Royal Mail's chief executive, Moya Greene, at the London Stock Exchange to officially mark the postal service's first day as a public company.

"This marks the exciting next phase in our company's long and proud history," she said. "With the support of our new shareholders, we are in a strong position to move forward, to compete effectively across our markets and to grow our business.

"Royal Mail will continue to be an essential part of the fabric of the UK, providing the universal postal service that is cherished by the 29m households and businesses across the country that we serve."

Meanwhile hundreds of Royal Mail workers met for a final mass meeting before the Communication Workers Union, which represents more than 100,000 postal workers, announces the results of a strike ballot on Wednesday.

Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: "We may have lost the battle over privatisation, but we are here to fight the war for jobs, services and terms and conditions in Royal Mail and the wider postal industry. Privatisation makes the need for a legally binding deal on jobs more important than ever. CWU is here for the long term, regardless of who owns this company."

The CWU said it is "almost certain" that its 115,000 members will vote for industrial action.A nationwide strike, the first since 2009, could be held as soon as 23 October.

The 99% of Royal Mail's 150,000 workers who accepted £2,200 worth of free shares as part of the privatisation have made paper profits of more than £900, although they cannot sell the shares for three years.

[Biker Mouse]

Now we know what our shares are valued at! Mid price on closing is 489.75. If we get 606 shares as has been widely assumed for a full timer, our "gift" from RM is valued at £2,967.88p.

[hubbahubba]

Now we know what our shares are valued at! Mid price on closing is 489.75. If we get 606 shares as has been widely assumed for a full timer, our "gift" from RM is valued at £2,967.88p.

Where you get 606 from,and are you factoring in the FT/PT split?

[thebiggestman]

"The government has warned that it could take up to 48 hours for emails detailing share allocations to be sent to all of the 690,000 investors who bought 227 shares in the flotation. Details in the emails are required for online selling."

Would only take 24 hours by first class post and would increase profits

[Biker Mouse]

Now we know what our shares are valued at! Mid price on closing is 489.75. If we get 606 shares as has been widely assumed for a full timer, our "gift" from RM is valued at £2,967.88p.

Where you get 606 from,and are you factoring in the FT/PT split?

I saw it somewhere here on RMC. I did say the 606 would be for a full timer. The amount is 10% of the floated stock divided by the number of eligible posties and then shared out pro-rata depending on your contract, all to be priced at the mid price at the close of trading on the 15th Oct.

Someone did the calculation and it was roughly 606.

[Chelseablue]

We're no getting to cda hour zero worth shares for 3 years ffs rip off

[hantsman]

We're no getting to cda hour zero worth shares for 3 years ffs rip off

What does that mean in English?

[whisperstar24]

at least 666 shares for 39 hours contracts, not taking into account the pro rata element for part time staff .
However as there is now a ceiling limit of £3000 to each employee each year due to tax implications. It will mean we do not get the 666 shares or more straight away.The rest will be next april . 613 would be the maximum we would get based at 489 per share to take us under the £3000.
However I do not think the 489 is the mid price its the highest price,can anybody confirm?

I believe it was based on the mid price value for each share for rm employees

[Chelseablue]

God knows lol