DVSA PLC

It has been quite well publicised over recent months that the Highways Agency (HA) will become a company in it's own right, this will allow the selling of shares, for the Government to retain a portion and for the Agency to become self financing, good news for tax payers it would seem, however it will only be good news if the sale time is right, as reflected in the information released today regarding the Post Office.

So that leads to other departments that provide a service, for some time now I have mentioned privatisation of the driving test, with such a strong push towards each department becoming a stand alone, after the natural trimming of staff, think Rosemary Thew, there is an even greater implication that the newly formed DVSA is a step towards creating a company that is a viable investment for share holders.

As a tax payer we retained a 30% stake in the Post Office, there is of course no reason for the Secretary of State to withhold a slice of the cake to the same size, although as a tax payer I would be far happier if all interests were held at 51% giving us the majority holding. Currently the holding for HA will be 100% but that can only have limited time scale, meaning the Agency needs to meet it's business forecast for the years 13/14 14/15 to make it more attractive.

So, logically, the back office will be deciding what package they need to pretty up and hold out for the share holders.  With the cost of a driving test rising next year, along with a restructure of the test itself, and the introduction of a standards check (quality assurance), the FTSE100 is likely to embrace the company with open arms.

Changing how instruction is delivered, more customer friendly, teach don't dictate, will make for a more attractive proposition, the question has to be can it really work.  With a new man at the helm, Alastair Peoples, the packaging is more appealing solely because the former DSA needs to lose it's reputation and skeletons before it can be offered for sale.