Harris Transport director George Harris has spoken of his heartbreak after the family firm established by his parents was forced into administration.

Alexander Kinninmonth and Richard Brewer of RSM Restructuring were appointed as joint administrators of the Eastleigh-based transport, distribution and warehousing firm on 21 August.

In a statement Kinninmonth said: "Unfortunately, it was not possible to sell the business as a going concern. As a result, the company was left with little choice but to cease trading and make staff redundant.

"We are assisting affected staff to make their claims to the Redundancy Payments Office and working with customers to allow them to collect goods."

On 17 August, prior to the appointment of the administrator, 70 staff were made redundant with 15 people retained in order to assist in an orderly wind-down of the warehouse operation.

A general haulier, that undertook some container and, for Palletforce, pallet network work, it was set up by husband and wife team Colin and Pauline Harris in the summer of 1991 with three trucks.

Its current directors are sons George and Derek Harris.

George Harris told MT that “at the moment I have no intention of employing anyone else in my life”. He detailed the shock felt by staff across the business when the decision to stop trading and then enter administration was made.

“When it happened there were grown men in tears here… we were very much a family firm, and if we were to do anything else the drivers have all said they’d be back,” he added.

George laid the blame for the company’s demise at the hands of a change in landlord, that initially the haulier wasn’t even aware of. The business had been paying the previous owner monthly but the new landlord reverted to a three-month payment demand and backdated the payment, which the business was unable to satisfy within the new time-frame.

The company has 35 trucks and trailers, the majority of which are owned and an auction of assets is planned.

It stopped covering areas including the Isle of Wight and Channel Island postcodes for Palletforce at the point of administration.

NATSAR Supplies, a company recently incorporated by George and Derek Harris is not connected to the administration, having been set up as an instrument to recognise and safeguard an investment the brothers had made in the business, which due to the pace of events did not come to fruition.

A spokesman for RSM Recovery confirmed that there are no plans for a pre-pack sale of the Harris Transport Business.

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