Getty PhotosDaniel Křetínský is about to develop into the brand new proprietor of Royal Mail after the sale of its father or mother agency was accepted by the federal government.
The Czech entrepreneur has been described as a “quiet sphinx” for his inscrutable fashion. So who’s the low-key billionaire and what might new possession imply for this historic British firm?
Based on the Sunday Occasions Wealthy Checklist, the 49-year-old is now value £6bn – up £2bn on 2023.
He has adopted low-profile method to his enterprise dealings, however what we do learn about Mr Křetínský is that he made a big a part of his cash in Central and Japanese European vitality by way of a labyrinthine construction of corporations.
This contains Eustream, which transports Russian fuel by way of pipelines that run by Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Within the UK, Mr Křetínský has constructed up fairly a portfolio in well-known manufacturers by Vesa Fairness Funding, a non-public agency which is registered in Luxembourg.
He holds huge stakes in grocery store group Sainsbury’s and the sportswear retailer Footlocker.
And, like others in his wealth bracket, he has a soccer membership or two. These embrace AC Sparta Prague, in addition to Premier League membership West Ham United during which he holds a 27% stake.
Getty PhotosEarly beginnings
The businessman and lawyer was born within the metropolis of Brno within the Czech Republic, some three hours away from Prague.
His dad and mom got here from skilled backgrounds, along with his mom working as a high choose and his father a pc science tutorial.
He studied each regulation and political science, taking over a job as a trainee lawyer in Brno quickly after graduating.
Afterwards he began working for the J&T funding group in 1999, climbing the ranks shortly and changing into a associate in 2003.
Since then, he has constructed an expansive portfolio, together with investments throughout the vitality, property and retail industries.
Property purchases
Mr Křetínský owns expansive properties in upmarket areas, which embrace Heath Corridor on London’s Bishop Avenue – referred to as billionaire’s row.
He reportedly purchased it for £65m and as soon as rented the property to popstar Justin Bieber for about £25,000 every week.
He additionally spent about €21.5m (£18.3m) shopping for a Parisian townhouse down the street from the Elysée Palace from Russian oligarch and fertilizer magnate Dmitry Rybolovlev and his ex-wife.
Mr Křetínský additionally owns a share of the Velaa non-public island resort within the Maldives.
Future hopes
On Monday, Křetínský’s EP Group stated it had a “mission to make Royal Mail a profitable trendy postal operator with prime quality service and merchandise for its clients”.
The situations agreed by EP Group embrace retaining the model identify and Royal Mail’s headquarters and tax residency within the UK for the following 5 years.
It has additionally reached an settlement in precept with unions that embrace employees getting a ten% share of any dividends paid out to Mr Kretinsky, in addition to the formation of a employees group that can meet month-to-month with the administrators of Royal Mail to provide staff an even bigger voice on how it’s run.
It’s thought that Mr Křetínský needs to construct a pan-European logistics enterprise to rival the likes of Evri and even Amazon.
Ultimately, by investing in issues like supply lockers, the hope is that Royal Mail might claw again the market share it has misplaced in recent times and switch its fortunes round.
He has additionally stated he wouldn’t stroll away from the requirement to ship letters all through the UK six days every week – so long as he’s working the service.
