Controversial ex-Post Office chief resurfaces at Flying Tiger-owner

Nick Read, the controversial former Post Office chief who was lambasted by MPs over his pay demands, has resurfaced at Modella Capital, the investment firm which has snapped up swathes of the British high street.

Sky News has learnt that Mr Read, who left the state-owned postal service in March 2025, is being lined up by Modella for a boardroom role at Flying Tiger Copenhagen, the Scandinavian variety retailer which trades from more than 1,000 stores in countries including the UK.

Mr Read is said to be in the frame to become the chain's new chairman, according to industry sources.

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He is an experienced retail executive, having run Nisa Retail and overseen its sale to the Co-op Group.

A former British Army officer, Mr Read spent more than five years at the Port Office, a tumultuous period in which the true scale of the Horizon IT scandal began to emerge.

During a febrile exchange of allegations between him and his former chairman, Henry Staunton, Mr Read was accused of having threatened to resign on numerous occasions.

Mr Read denied suggestions at the time that he had been "obsessed" by his pay package, while he was also accused by a former human resources director of the Post Office of leading a "deliberate campaign to defame and ostracise me".

Under his leadership, Mr Read had raised the idea of handing partial ownership to Post Office workers, although little progress was ever made on such a scheme because of the company's financial travails.

The Post Office, which is Britain's biggest retail network, receives an annual subsidy from the government.

Mr Staunton was sacked in 2024 by the then business secretary and now Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, with Mr Read leaving a matter of months later.

Since then, Mr Read has not taken any prominent jobs in UK boardrooms, although he appears to have been appointed by Modella Capital as an operating partner during the summer, according to the firm's website.

Modella did not announce his appointment publicly.

In the last two years, Modella has become the most prolific acquirer of distressed retail assets in Britain, snapping up chains including The Original Factory Shop, accessories retailer Claire's and the high street arm of WHSmith, which it has rebranded TGJones.

TOFS and Claire's subsequently collapsed again, with Modella citing the headwinds facing all major high street businesses.

Earlier this year, it launched a restructuring plan at TGJones, prompting the closure of dozens of stores and substantial job losses.

It is now among the parties vying to buy Poundland, which has been put up for sale by Gordon Brothers, the discounter's owner of just over a year.

If it succeeds with an offer for Poundland, the chain would be reunited with its former sister business, Dealz, a big Polish retailer which is also owned by Modella.

Modella declined to comment on Mr Read's involvement.

(c) Sky News 2026: Controversial ex-Post Office chief resurfaces at Flying Tiger-owner