Premier-Logistics2.jpg

Bardon, Leicestershire-based Premier Logistics (UK) has entered into a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).

Rajnesh Mittal and Steven Stokes of FRP Advisory have been named as joint supervisors of the CVA.

The struggling haulier has been seeking to restructure its finances in the face of a £5.7m shortfall to creditors.

The final details of the CVA are unknown at present but in a letter seen by MT and dated 11 July, owner Lee Christopher described a period of ‘unprecedented financial stress’ for the business.

He added that a CVA, which was put to a creditors' vote on the 30 July, was the only way some of the business, which had liabilities of £8.6m as of 10 July, would survive.

If the CVA has been agreed in line with the proposals, unsecured creditors will receive 34p for every the pound they are owed. It would run for 35 months.

Mittal said: “The CVA will enable the business to complete its planned restructuring, including closure of under-performing depots, and therefore help secure the future viability of the business and return it to profitability.”

Earlier this month Premier Logistics closed its Huddersfield depot and closed its MWC haulage operation, which was based there. Its Reading depot was due to shut down on 13 July.

Read more

Premier Logistics made a pre-tax loss of £1.2m in the year ended 30 April 2017, which was triggered by the end of its work with former pallet network Pall-Ex and poor performances from two businesses it bought in 2015 - DA Clayton in Bicester and CJ Express in Hull. The former closed in December 2016, while CJ Express continued trading until last November.

The haulier continued to be loss making for the rest of 2017, recording a shortfall of £87,174 for the eight months to 31 December.

Earlier this year Lee said he was confident the business would recover, however according to FRP Advisory it made a further loss of £355,000 in the five months to 31 May 2018 leading to the newly adopted CVA.

Topics