The new owner of Circle Express said all 158 jobs at the air freight specialist were saved when it bought the firm out of administration just before Christmas.
The West Drayton express delivery company appointed administrators at Begbies Traynor in Manchester on 19 December and its business and assets were then immediately sold to Trilogy Logistics, which also specialises in air freight services.
Trilogy said that as a result, there was no disruption to business services allowing customers to be serviced and employees paid on time.
Craig Mills, MD at Trilogy Logistics, said: “Getting this deal completed quickly and ensuring that employees were paid on time was very important to us.
“Circle Express has a good reputation in the industry and may have run into financial difficulties, but with some restructuring of its activities it has the ability to be a successful business in the future supporting continued employment.
“The business, and its talented employees, have the potential to thrive and we aim to help them do that as part of Trilogy Logistics. We are now looking forward to creating a bright future for the business and workforce in 2026.”
The last set of accounts for Circle Express, which was established in the 1970s, reported turnover of £34.7m in the extended period covering 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2024, compared to £27.2m in the preceding 12 months.
However, operating losses had increased from around £367,000 to more than £7.7m and its pre-tax loss was £9.4m.
Dean Watson, Begbies Traynor partner, said: “Circle Express was long established, but it fell into financial difficulties and had to be placed into administration.
“The directors of both Circle Express and its new owner made it clear they wanted to see the employees and their wages protected, therefore we needed to act quickly.
“Working under strict deadlines we were grateful to get this transaction completed before entering the Christmas period.”
