Who is the new Royal Mail boss Daniel Křetínský? Czech billionaire owns £100m London mansion which he once rented out to Justin Bieber; West Ham link, net worth

Permission for the sale of International Distribution Services (IDS) to Daniel Křetínský’s EP Group has been officially announced this morning (Monday 16 December) after being reviewed by the government under the National Security and Investment Act. Mr Křetínský and IDS agreed a deal in May but have been waiting for approval from the government, which must sanction the takeover given the national importance of Royal Mail and the postal service in the UK.

There were already a number of pledges made by Mr Křetínský when the proposed deal was announced, including a vow to keep the brand name and retain Royal Mail’s headquarters and tax residency in the UK for the next five years, as well as commitments to protect the company’s universal service obligations (USO). The government will also reportedly keep a so-called “golden share” in the postal service, meaning it will need to approve any key changes to Royal Mail’s ownership, headquarters location and tax residency.

Mr Křetínský is nicknamed the Czech sphinx and is ranked 33rd on The Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated net worth of £6bn - up £2bn since 2023. He is known as the "Czech Sphinx" - a reference to the mysterious mythical creature - reportedly due to his enigmatic nature and reluctance to speak about his investments in public.

He is known for keeping a low profile and rarely gives interviews. Czech journalist Michael Mares once described him to the New York Times as someone who "you can actually meet downtown, or see driving his [Porsche] Panamera... he lives here, but he's not someone who will be in a paper".

Mr Křetínský was born into a high-achieving family in the Czech city of Brno. His mother was a top judge, while his father was a doctor of computer science. After graduating with a degree in political science, he worked as a lawyer before joining investment group J&T Finance Group in 1999.

He quickly rose up its ranks to become a partner in 2003, before making his first significant investment a year later in Czech football team Sparta Prague. He is now the co-owner of his boyhood club and reportedly holds a 40% share.

The billionaire made much of his fortune from energy and fossil-fuel investments, but has a variety of business interests in countries spanning his home nation, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, the Netherlands and the UK. They include Eustream, which moves Russian gas via pipelines running through Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and sportswear retailer Footlocker.

In 2009, he became heavily involved in the founding of J&T’s energy investment company EPH. He is the current chairman and majority shareholder of the now multi-billion pound company, which is part of a network of linked firms.

In 2018, he snapped up a 49% stake in French newspaper Le Monde, followed by a 3.05% stake in Sainsbury's two years later - becoming its fourth-largest shareholder. He later raised his investment in the supermarket chain to nearly 10%.

Mr Křetínský made another splash into the UK market in 2021 when he bought a 27% stake in West Ham United football club - a deal worth £150m which was first revealed by Sky News. His EP Group already owns 27.6% of the Royal Mail.

He owns a 15-bedroom house in London's Bishop Avenue - known as billionaire's row - which he bought for £65m in 2015 and once rented to pop star Justin Bieber for a reputed £25,000 a week. He also spent €21.5m (£18.3m) buying a Parisian townhouse down the road from the Elysee Palace from Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev. The billionaire also owns a 25% share of the Velaa exclusive private island resort in the Maldives.