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PART IV |
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REORGANISATION OF THE POST OFFICE |
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Transfer of property etc. |
| Transfer of property etc. to nominated company. |
51. - (1) On such day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint, all the property, rights and liabilities to which the Post Office was entitled or subject immediately before that day shall become by virtue of this section property, rights and liabilities of a company nominated for the purposes of this section by order of the Secretary of State.
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(2) The Secretary of State may nominate for the purposes of this section any company formed and registered under the Companies Act 1985, subject to subsections (3) and (4).
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(3) The Secretary of State shall consult the Post Office before nominating a company for the purposes of this section.
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(4) On the appointed day the company concerned must be a company limited by shares which is wholly owned by the Crown.
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(5) An order made under this section may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order at any time before any property, rights or liabilities of the Post Office vest in a company by virtue of this section.
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(6) Schedule 3 (which makes supplementary provision) shall have effect.
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(7) For the purposes of this Part a company shall be treated as wholly owned by the Crown at any time when each of the issued shares of the company is held by, or by a nominee of, the Treasury or the Secretary of State.
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(8) In this Part-
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"the appointed day" means the day appointed under this section, and |
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"the Post Office company" means the company nominated for the purposes of this section. |
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The Post Office company etc: government holdings |
| Government holding in the Post Office company and its subsidiaries. |
52. - (1) The Post Office company or any of its subsidiaries shall issue such securities of the company or subsidiary concerned as the Secretary of State may from time to time direct.
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(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), any such securities shall, as the Secretary of State may so direct, be issued to the Treasury or the Secretary of State.
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(3) If the Secretary of State gives a direction under subsection (1) for the purpose of requiring an issue of shares or share rights for which prior approval has been given in accordance with section 56, the shares or share rights concerned shall be issued to the person approved for that purpose in accordance with that section.
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(4) If the Secretary of State gives a direction under subsection (1) for the purpose of requiring a relevant subsidiary to issue shares or share rights in it to the Post Office company or to another relevant subsidiary of which it is a subsidiary, the shares or share rights concerned shall be issued to the Post Office company or (as the case may be) to the other relevant subsidiary.
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(5) The Secretary of State shall not give a direction under this section at a time when the Post Office company is not wholly owned by the Crown.
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(6) Securities to be issued in pursuance of this section shall be issued at such time or times, and (subject to subsection (7)) on such terms, as the Secretary of State may direct.
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(7) Any shares issued in pursuance of this section-
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(a) shall be of such nominal value as the Secretary of State may direct, and |
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(b) shall be issued as fully paid and treated for the purposes of the Companies Act 1985 or the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 as if they had been paid up by virtue of payment of their nominal value in cash. |
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(8) In this Part "relevant subsidiary" means any subsidiary of the Post Office company which-
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(a) delivers relevant postal packets in the United Kingdom, |
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(b) collects relevant postal packets from access points in the United Kingdom, |
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(c) sorts or transports relevant postal packets in the United Kingdom, or |
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(d) provides a registered post service in the United Kingdom, |
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and in this subsection "access point" and "relevant postal packets" have the same meaning as in section 4.
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| Government investment in securities of the Post Office company and its subsidiaries. |
53. - (1) The Treasury or, with the consent of the Treasury, the Secretary of State may at any time acquire securities of the Post Office company or of any of its subsidiaries.
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(2) The Secretary of State shall not, without the consent of the Treasury, dispose of any securities acquired by him in pursuance of this section.
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(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to any disposal which is excepted from subsection (1) or (2) of section 55 by virtue of subsection (3) or (4) of that section.
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The Post Office company etc: restrictions on dealings |
| Restriction on issue of shares to third parties. |
54. - (1) No shares or share rights in the Post Office company shall be issued on or after the appointed day unless-
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(a) they are issued to the Treasury, the Secretary of State or any nominee of either of them, or |
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(b) the issue is one for which prior approval has been given in accordance with section 56. |
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(2) No shares or share rights in any relevant subsidiary of the Post Office company shall be issued on or after the appointed day unless-
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(a) they are issued to the Treasury, the Secretary of State or any nominee of either of them, |
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(b) they are issued in accordance with a direction of the kind mentioned in section 52(4), or |
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(c) the issue is one for which prior approval has been given in accordance with section 56. |
