Creditors should get payout from Bedfords collapse as KPMG eyes cartel claim

Trade creditors of West Yorkshire-based Bedfords should receive some money when the business enters liquidation, according to insolvency practitioners.

In a final administration report, KPMG said that based on current estimates, unsecured creditors “should receive a dividend during the subsequent creditors’ voluntary liquidation (CVL)".

“The amount will be determined once the realisation of assets and payment of associated costs has been completed during the liquidation,” it added.

Preferential claims of £71,617 were paid in full in November 2020.

Read more

• Creditors of Bedfords Group facing £5m shortfall, according to KPMG
• Bedfords stablemate RPL Transport in administration too
• Bedfords Group collapses into administration and ceases trading

The Palletforce founding member company, which employed 84 staff and specialised in transporting printing materials, packaging and homeware, entered administration in March 2019 following cash flow difficulties.

Just a few days later, RPL Transport, which was purchased by Bedfords in 2014, followed its parent company into administration.

The report said it had received an interim dividend of £580,514 from the liquidation of RPL and that another £64,000 is expected from RPL’s liquidators in due course.

KPMG added that Bedfords could have a potential legal claim as a result of the truck manufacturers’ price-fixing cartel: “Weightmans, solicitors running a class claim on an opt-out basis, have advised that the continuation of the collective proceedings should be heard on 19 April 2021, with certification expected to be granted by June,” it said.

“The quantum and timing of any potential award remains uncertain, however we will continue to pursue this matter in the subsequent CVL.”