The owner of Royal Mail is reportedly considering a bid for Czech parcel giant Packeta before the latest round of bids is revealed on Friday.

International Distributions Services is said to be considering going in for the company which operations in central and eastern Europe, according to a report in The Times.

This comes after Royal Mail’s owner IDS has been blighted by widening losses, heavy strike action and reputational damage.

service obligation after trebling losses to £319m in the first half of the year, as reported last month.

According to the Times, Packeta operates in  Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Germany in addition to the Czech Republic, and was put up for sale in May.

The potential swoop comes as Royal Mail’s debts swell to around £1.5bn, meaning further expansion could prove controversial.

Last month, IDS said it is working to improve quality after profits plunged amid a torrid year of strikes and customer let-downs.

IDS chief executive Martin Seidenberg said his number one goal is to improve the quality of the group’s services.

“From experience,” he said, “I know that quality is key for customer satisfaction and sustainable growth, so we are pulling out all the stops to deliver Christmas for our customers.”

A spokesman for International Distributions Services said: “We never comment on rumour or speculation.”