The SubPostmaster Magazine

NFSP feature: Post office in focus
Wood Green Post
Office exterior
COMMUNITY
CHAMPION
Combi counter transactions
Rizwan Salahuddin is the postmaster of Wood Green Post Office, which
opened in January 2024, following a major campaign by locals, as well as
by the local MP. He tells Simon King about the support of the community
and the successful opening of the branch
R
izwan moved to the UK
from Pakistan in 2003, and
his first job was as a
counter clerk at a post
office in London, and that started his
two decades working in the sector.
After climbing the ranks within
post offices across London, Rizwan
took the plunge and took over his
first branch in 2017. Zoom forwards
seven years and the entrepreneur,
who couldn’t speak English when he
arrived in the UK, is now the owner of
four branches and a bank hub.
Rizwan says: “When I came to this
country, the first job I got was in a
post office; it’s a well-known brand
and I chose to be part of the Post
Office family.
“I have an IT Masters degree from
London Metropolitan University and
am a Cisco and Microsoft-qualified
engineer. After graduating in 2007, I
got offers from different companies,
but I loved working for the Post
Office.”
On January 22, 2024, Rizwan’s
fourth branch opened in The Mall,
Wood Green, 10 months after the
previous post office in the district
closed. This branch was
closed when the
WHSmith store – that
contained the post
office – shut down.
The campaign, led
by locals and
Catherine West, the
MP for Hornsey and
Wood Green, to keep
a post office in the area
featured a petition with
“The post
office is very
important, the
community
needs it”
1,000 names on it.
Speaking at the opening of the
Wood Green Post Office, Ms West
said: “I really want to congratulate
postmaster, Rizwan Salahuddin, for
his big investment to re-open Wood
Green Post Office and store at the
heart of the shopping centre.
“He’s done a great job bringing
back all the vital Post Office
services, but also a
well-stocked shop.”
For Rizwan, who has
lived in Wood Green
for 20 years, it was a
no brainer to get
involved when Post
Office Ltd (PO)
advertised that it was
looking for people
interested in bringing a
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The SubPostmaster April 2024