TNT Mail to deliver mail with Express Dairies

TNT Mail has linked up with Express Dairies to launch a business-to-consumer letter and parcel distribution service in competition with Royal Mail.

The two have formed a joint venture company, TNT Mail Services. Express, part of Arla Foods UK, will use its fleet of electric milk floats to deliver larger, non-time sensitive items such as books, CDs, photographs and contact lenses. TNT Mail, part of TPG NV, the Dutch post office, will handle the collection, sales and marketing of the service.

The move is the latest development in the deregulation of UK postal services, which will see Royal Mail lose the monopoly it has enjoyed for hundreds of years. Companies including UK Mail, Deutsche Post, Hays, Express Dairies and TNT have been developing rival services.

In April, TNT signed a deal with Royal Mail allowing it to offer bulk mailings of items less than 100g in weight. TNT will collect and sort the items, such as credit card statements and direct mailshots, and feed them in to Royal Mail’s distribution network. The deal with Express covers heavier weight letters, packets and parcels.

Plans for marketing TNT Mail in the UK have not been disclosed.