Czechs armed with cheques take aim at some of Britain’s biggest institutions

The Royal Mail could follow the National Lottery into the hands of Czech investors, as Chris Blackhurst explains

A Czech billionaire wants to buy the Royal Mail (PA)

Last May, Daniel Kretinsky gave a rare interview.

Known as “the Czech Sphinx”, the enigmatic, low-profile billionaire “makes it clear”, says the newspaper, “that he will not be bidding for Royal Mail, where his Vesa investment vehicle owns more than 25 per cent, or Sainsbury’s, where it has 10 per cent”. Kretinsky said: “We are interested to see whether a company has the capability to generate sufficient free cashflows, which means you create economic value. There may be companies where you can be a happy 10 per cent shareholder for 20 years.”

Forget 20 years. Not even a year on, and Kretinsky is attempting to buy Royal Mail.