Subpostmasters have demanded answers over the gap between Post Office’s (PO) increased profits and the falling remuneration for branches.

During a Q&A session at the PO conference on 11 May, the National Federation of SubPostmaster’s (NFSP) chief executive Calum Greenhow said: “If I talk about what PO generates and what postmasters earn, a postmaster in 2021 earned 40p in the pound. In 2022 they earned 45p and in 2023 they earned 42p. We’ve lost £87m in mail revenues alone.”

He added: “Profits have gone up, revenue has gone up but postmasters’ income has gone down. How can we improve remuneration when key income drivers are in decline?”

The question comes amid concerns about the sustainability of post office branches as mail revenues decline.

In response Kathryn Sherratt, PO’s finance director admitted she “could not disagree”.

“We know it’s not enough and we need to do more,” she said. “We have a commitment to do more, particularly in mails and to try to improve the profitability of branches. It is a priority but it’s not easy.”

The conference comes as Postal Affairs minister Kevin Hollinrake said he would back handing control of PO to partnered stores, marking the first time the government has supported PO mutualisation.

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