Brexit uncertainty did for car transporter Beamish, says administrator

Turnover at county Durham car transporter Beamish Transport plummeted by 20% in 2018 “arguably because of Brexit uncertainty”, according to its administrator.

In a report to creditors explaining how the established and profitable business was forced to close down in March of this year, KSA Group said the car sector had been beset by lower volumes and fierce competition.

This was due to oversupply and lower demand for vehicle movements, it added.

However, the referendum vote in favour of leaving the European Union in 2016 and the protracted negotiations since had turned Beamish Transport into a loss-making enterprise hit by falling margins.

“As a result, the company had…come under significant financial pressure and had fallen behind with its obligations to creditors,” explained the report.

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Talks to sell its shares to a potential purchaser stalled in January and administration was then seen by the directors as the best way to protect its assets.

At the time, Beamish Transport’s operations manager told motortransport.co.uk that the move had led to 76 redundancies, which included drivers and office staff.

The report said: “Following administration, the administrators, through their agents, agreed a sale of the residual assets to D Pickering, a company connected to Beamish Transport by means of a common director and shareholder, namely Mr Darrin Pickering.”

The sale of some of the vehicles, the company’s goodwill, brand name, fixtures, fitting and plant was agreed at £38,318.

The report stressed that it was not a pre-packaged sale and that it represented the optimum return for those owed money, of which £905,000 is estimated to be oustanding to trade and expense creditors.

It added: “It is anticipated that the company will have sufficient property to allow a distribution to be made to the unsecured creditors.

“The level of that dividend will be dependent upon the level of realisations achieved and the eventual level of claims agreed.”

The Office of the Traffic Commissioner confirmed to motortransport.co.uk that a licence application in the name of D Pickering, trading as Beamish Transport, is currently under consideration.

The application is for up to 10 vehicles and 10 trailers.