No assurances were sought from the priority investors ahead of the sale of shares in Royal Mail. Any mechanism which requires a buyer to give up the rights normally associated with shares, such as a restriction on the right to sell those shares for a period of time, would be reflected in the price investors would be prepared to pay for those shares. These investors gave the Government confidence to take forward the IPO which raised nearly £2bn for the tax payer and reduced the risk that the tax payer to support the universal postal service.