The London Mint Office, which distributes commemorative coins and medals, appointed administrators on July 31 after 20 years in business.

The company’s website now displays a message confirming the appointment of Michael Magnay and Jonny Marston of Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP as joint administrators.

A spokesman for Alvarez and Marsal said: “On July 31 2026, Michael Magnay and Jonny Marston of Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP were appointed as Joint Administrators of The London Mint Office Limited in administration (the “Company”).

“Regrettably, the Company’s liquidity challenges have led to a number of immediate redundancies. We are supporting the affected employees through the redundancy process.

What Happens When a Company Goes Into Administration?

“The affairs, business and property of the Company are being managed by the Joint Administrators who act as agents of the Company and without personal liability.”

The announcement confirms that it is no longer possible to purchase coins or medals through the company’s website.

The London Mint Office operates a distribution centre in Tonypandy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, where it employs a significant number of people.

Administration is a formal insolvency process triggered when a business cannot meet its financial obligations.

An insolvency practitioner is appointed to manage the company’s affairs and may attempt to restructure the business or sell off assets to repay creditors.

What happens when a company goes into Liquidation?

Founded in 2006, The London Mint Office describes itself as “one of the UK’s most trusted suppliers of historic, commemorative, and collector coins.”

It is part of Samlerhuset AS, a Norwegian company based near Oslo and one of Europe’s largest distributors of commemorative coins and medals.

Samlerhuset’s website states that it offers “provide a wide range of coins from ancient to modern, originating from virtually every country in the world.”

The London Mint Office has advised anyone with an interest in the company’s assets to contact the administrators at INS_THLMOL@alvarezandmarsal.com.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally decided that both discounters should be added to the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010, which currently applies to Asda, Co-op, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose.

This order is designed to prevent large grocery retailers from using land agreements to block competitors from opening nearby stores, often through restrictive covenants or exclusivity terms.

Juliette Enser, executive director of competition enforcement and markets at the CMA, said: “We want everyone to have the best choice of supermarket and range of prices when buying their groceries.

“To ensure this happens, we put rules in place to prevent big supermarket chains blocking rival stores from opening nearby – and now we propose applying those rules to Aldi and Lidl too.

“This is about allowing shoppers to choose where they spend their money and levelling the playing field for all major supermarkets.

“Today’s proposals are provisional and we welcome views before deciding the best way forward.”

The CMA’s review found that Aldi, Lidl GB, and Lidl NI now meet the criteria of ‘Large Grocery Retailers’ (LGRs) due to their store footprint, nationwide presence, procurement model, and the breadth of their grocery range.

Aldi and Lidl were originally excluded from the 2010 order as ‘limited assortment discounters’, offering a smaller selection of products compared to traditional supermarkets.

However, the CMA’s provisional findings indicate that this is no longer the case.

All three now operate large grocery stores, each with more than 1,000 square metres of shop floor space, and offer a full range of products, though with less category choice than some competitors.

They also purchase goods directly from suppliers through integrated wholesaling.

With the UK grocery market estimated to be worth £215 billion, Aldi and Lidl are now ranked among the top five retailers by market share.

The CMA is seeking feedback from stakeholders before reaching a final decision.

Aldi and Lidl could join the other supermarket chains later this year.

The CMA is inviting views until 5pm on Monday, September 7, 2026, and will issue its final decision in the autumn after reviewing responses.

If the discounters are included under the order, they will be prevented from using land agreements to limit competition from other supermarket chains.

The CMA aims to ensure competition across the grocery sector to give shoppers more choice and competitive pricing by removing obstacles to new store openings.

If you have ordered something that is being sent through Royal Mail, it might be arriving a little later than usual.

Royal Mail deliveries are currently facing delays in areas including Bedford, Deal, Huntingdon, and Llangefni.

Here are all of the postcodes across England and Wales that are currently experiencing delays.

What postcodes are experiencing Royal Mail delays?

Royal Mail posts its service updates to keep its customers aware of any issues happening at its local offices.

The delivery company said: “We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week.

“In a small number of local offices, this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors.

“In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers.

“We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive.”

The full list of postcodes affected:

• Barry DO (CF63)
• Bedford MK40 DO (MK40-MK45)
• Blyth DO (NE24)
• Brierley Hill DO (DY5)
• Burslem DO (ST6)
• Calderway DO (WF12-WF14)
• Carmarthen DO (SA17, SA31, SA32, SA33)
• Chester DO (CH1-CH4, CH88, CH99)
• Chorlton DO (M21)
• Deal DO (CT14)
• Dudley DO (DY1-DY3)
• Ebbw Vale DO (NP23)
• Failsworth SUDO (M35)
• Gosforth DO (NE3, NE13)
• Great Glen SPDO (LE8)
• Heswall DO (CH31, CH60, CH61)
• Huntingdon DO (PE26-PE29)
• Ilfracombe DO (EX34)
• Inverclyde DO (PA14-PA19)
• Llangefni DO (LL62-LL78)
• Lutterworth DO (LE9, LE17)
• Margate DO (CT7-CT9)
• Milton Keynes Kiln Farm DO (MK8, MK11-MK14, MK19)
• Mold DO (CH7)
• Mumbles DO (SA3)
• New Ferry DO (CH32, CH62, CH63)
• Newton Le Willows DO (WA3, WA12)
• Pontefract DO (WF7-WF9, WF11)
• Rugby DO (CV21-CV23)
• Rugeley DO (WS15)
• Shrewsbury DO (SY1-SY5)
• Sidmouth DO (EX10)
• Southam DO (CV47)
• Wallingford DO (OX10, OX49)
• Wednesbury DO (WS10)
• West Park DO (PL5)
• Wolverhampton NE DO (WV11, WV12)
• Woolton DO (L25-L27)

Royal Mail apologised for any inconvenience caused by the delays and will be regularly updating its customers on the areas that are most impacted.

Despite the delays, Royal Mail has said its road and air network services have operated to schedule over the last 24 hours.

If you have a parcel that needs to be collected from a Customer Service Point, you will be left a “Something for you” card.

Have you had any issues with Royal Mail parcels recently? Let us know in the comments.