Saints Transport saw a dramatic drop in pre-tax profit in 2016, in a year that saw the company undergo a major fleet renewal and chairman Piers Carroll complete an MBO.
The operator made a pre-tax loss of £524,000 in the year ended 31 December 2016, a 302% drop on 2015’s pre-tax profit of £259,000.
In its strategic report Saints attributed falling profit to the £5.6m spent on fleet renewal, and costs associated with the management buyout.
The MBO was completed on 5 December 2016, which saw ownership of the company transferred to chairman Piers Carroll.
The operator said this buyout “ensures that the company passes on through the family and continues to be a true family business, maintaining our unswerving ethos that has served us so well over the years: the customer is king”.
The vehicle expenditure during the year took the value of the Saints’ fleet from £5m to £7.4m. The operator maintains a five-year fleet renewal policy, to “ensure that maintenance costs are kept low and that the fleet gas the capability to provide the most efficient service”.
Turnover grew by 3.5% in the year, from £23.5m to £24.3m. Saints said that its overall aim for 2017 was to grow turnover at a similar rate to 2016.
Saints Transport did not respond to requests for comment.