Nicholson's Transport ceases trading after being placed into administration

Billingham-based Nicholson’s Transport has been placed into administration and ceased trading, motortransport.co.uk can reveal.

Nicholson Group – the parent company - is not affected with its general haulage, Hiab, warehousing and pick and pack services continuing.

However the business’s work for The Pallet Network (TPN) and The Hazchem Network has ended.

Nicholson’s Transport is owned by MD David Nicholson. The business held an O-licence, now surrendered, authorising 14 vehicles and 15 trailers.

Its most recently published accounts for the year ended 31 March 2018 state that net liabilities at the transport business were more than £1m at that point.

A call to Nicholson’s Transport confirmed the administration. It also revealed that 23 drivers and warehousing staff affected by it and the subsequent closure had transferred over to a temporary operation instigated by TPN to ensure service continuity.

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Mark Duggan, MD at TPN, told motortransport.co.uk that the contingency service was being run out of Prestons of Potto’s Stockton-on-Tees site as part of a collaboration between the pallet network and the haulier.

“The service is undiminished, as it’s the same team, doing the same job as before at TPN,” he said.

He added that Nicholson’s Transport had made its intentions clear to the network several weeks ago prompting a contingency plan to be created and put into place.

Other options to save the business appear to have been explored, with records at Companies House listing Burnside Distribution as a business incorporated on 16 April 2019 at the same Billingham address as the failed Nicholson’s Transport.

They also show that David Nicholson was appointed as a director of the business on 3 June. On the same date Matthew Bruce, Melanie Farman and Lisa Huskinson saw their roles as directors of the newly formed company terminated.

An O-licence authorising 15 vehicles and 10 trailers naming the former directors of Burnside Distribution was submitted to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner last month. It was featured in the North East region edition of Applications and Decisions published on 22 May.

However, this appears to have now been withdrawn and no longer appears on the gov.uk lorry operators’ site where it was listed as under consideration.

Stiller Warehousing and Distribution is covering the postcode area previously handled by Nicholson’s Transport (DH and DL) for The Hazchem Network. They are also covering the TS and SR postcodes, mirroring their coverage for Palletline.

David Nicholson declined to comment.

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