Royal Mail set for Ftse-100 after tapping Covid parcels delivery boom

Shares hit three-year high after agreement in principle with unions following years of labour negotiations, which hindered the company’s efforts to boost productivity

Royal Mail’s UK-focused unit delivered 1.7bn parcels in the 12 months ended March, up 32% year-on-year.

Royal Mail is set for a return to London's Ftse-100 Index as the 500-year-old company cements its position as a crucial component of Europe’s pandemic-driven e-commerce boom.

Following a three-fold price rally over the past 12 months, the stock is expected to replace engineer Renishaw in the benchmark during the next quarterly review, according to calculations by Charles Hancock, an equities trader at London broker Liberum Capital.