Scottish Provident policyholders should have received a circular containing details of the firm's proposed demutualisation and transfer to Abbey National in the post this week.

But when the 143-page documents plop onto your doormat, spare a thought for those overseeing what has been a major logistical exercise for the company.

Some 680,000 tonnes of paper were used to produce the circulars, which were printed at four sites throughout Britain.

It took 10 days to print them and 50 lorries were required to transport them to a mailing centre in Newcastle - before they were posted out to more than 750,000 policy-holders in Ireland and Britain.