Electronic Telegraph, 10 November 1999

Business Post hit by hardware freeze By Andrew Clark

THE Millennium Bug is deterring people from sending parcels according to Business Post, which saw its shares plunge 45p to 447.5p after warning of "challenging" trading yesterday.

Peter Kane, chief executive, said a big slice of the express mail company's business involved delivering computers, printers, modems and other hardware. Demand is suffering because customers are delaying purchases of new equipment until the new year. Mr Kane said: "A lot of large companies have actually put the barrier down on IT spending until after the millennium. We deliver a huge number of IT-related parcels."

His comments followed a 2pc rise in half-year profits to #8.95m pre-tax, held back by substantial spending to upgrade Business Post's systems.

The company is introducing a service called Web-despatch, allowing customers to order delivery and collection on the internet. It is also launching Home Choice, which offers a range of weekend or evening collections for people who are not in during the day.

Mr Kane, who founded Business Post with his brother Michael, returned from retirement last year to take back the reins of the company, ousting former boss Mick Jones and finance director Torquil Montague-Johnstone.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), November 13, 1999