TNT Post is to conduct a second end-to-end delivery trial from mid-April in west London, following the successful conclusion of a final-mile trial in Liverpool.

The private postal operator has held long-term ambitions to roll-out a complete end-to-end service rivalling Royal Mail, but says it has been unable to achieve this goal due to the national incumbent's exemption on final mile deliveries.

Nick Wells, TNT Post chief executive, says: “TNT Post has built an excellent reputation for quality, innovation and providing choice for its clients. We now want to take those qualities and apply them to our own delivery service. We want to make a significant investment in infrastructure and create thousands of jobs in the UK, but the government is doing little to help.

"We need the government to announce that it is going to allow fair competition in the UK postal market by removing the Royal Mail VAT exemption of final mile delivery.”

TNT Post has also recently secured a mailing contract with Tesco, following a competitive tender, to handle 180 million items per year to 15 million households. Wells says the contract is a great coup for the business, and is one of the most "sought after" in the postal sector.

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