Royal Mail: Pricing of Shares
Debate between Lord Popat and Lord Razzall
Lord Popat
My Lords, as I said, our key objective was to secure value for money and to make sure that this flotation was successful. The nine banks that we appointed set out the criteria and gave us advice as to the value of the shares that we should pitch at. One criterion was to make sure that the future of the Royal Mail continues to be strong. The most important criterion was that institutional investors were able to invest money for the future of the Royal Mail.
Lord Razzall (LD)
My Lords, perhaps I may follow the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, in extending the Question. Does the Government have a view as to what steps the regulator should take regarding the irresponsible actions of the colleague of the noble Lord, Lord Donoughue, in another place in his public comments, which had the effect of encouraging small investors to buy shares without explaining the risks involved to them?
Lord Popat
My Lords, the prospectus was very clear about the risks involved in acquiring these shares. With regard to small investors, we allocated around 18% to retail investors. Ninety per cent of the retail investors who applied for shares up to £10,000 took up the shares knowing what the risks would be.
EU: UK Trading Deficit
Debate between Lord Popat and Lord Razzall
Lord Popat
My Lords, part of the reason for the devaluation of the euro is the crisis the euro is going through. This Government are committed to creating a competitive economy that is fit for purpose in the 21st century.
Lord Razzall
My Lords, I am sure the Minister will agree that the argument the noble Lord, Lord Vinson, has made is the one that people from his Benches make who advocate us coming out of the European Union. I am sure he would accept, and perhaps he can confirm, that one of the answers to the noble Lord, Lord Vinson, ought to be to think what would happen to our exports to the European Union were we to come out of it, let alone what would happen to our inward investment.
Lord Popat
My Lords, just under half our exporting is to the European Union. We are working to continue our trade relations with the European Union, and we really need to ensure that we reform it to make it more competitive and accountable. It is crucial that we continue to trade with it and that we increase our trade with it: hence, we have 27 UKTI offices in those countries.