Former Palletline member Orb Logistics owed unsecured creditors over £1.26m when it went into administration earlier this year, it has been revealed.

Orb, formerly named Mission Logistics, went into administration and ceased trading in July. It began trading, initially as Mission Logistics, when its directors bought the trading name and assets of the collapsed Taskforce Movement & Storage in a pre-pack administration in August 2013.

According to a report by administrator Leonard Curtis, the Essex-based operator began experiencing financial difficulty shortly after it commenced trading last year and lost a major warehousing contract in December, significantly reducing its turnover.

As a result of the more than £800,000 sum owed to creditors when Taskforce went into administration, a number of suppliers demanded deposits or bonds to be paid upfront when Mission Logistics (latterly Orb) began trading. Poor cash flow also forced it to hire its trucks and trailers, increasing costs further.

According to the administrator’s report it owed unsecured creditors a total of £1.26m on 28 July. Significant creditors included Palletline, which was owed £187,840, and HMRC, which was owed £481,133.

Attempts to find a buyer for the Essex-based operator were made, but the two offers received were unsuccessful and the company was placed in administration.

Orb employed 83 staff across two sites in Birmingham and Witham, Essex, including 43 drivers. It was authorised to run 62 vehicles and 36 trailers from the two sites and covered the CM and B6 postcodes for Palletline, replacements for which have been appointed.

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