Norfolk haulage firm Bomfords Group has collapsed into administration.

The company, which was founded 44 years ago in 1980, appointed administrator Kroll Advisory on 22 December.

The company holds a standard international licence authorising 70 HGVs and 140 trailers out of three operating centres in the county.

The company traded as Neil Bomford Haulage until 2019 when it was acquired by Howell Gordon and rebranded as Bomfords Group.

Howell Gordon also entered administration on the same day.

The last available set of accounts for the haulage firm showed that in the year ending 31 December 2021, turnover had fallen 8.5% to £13.3m and it reported a pre-tax loss of £618,000.

The company said it had been affected by the driver shortage, which had resulted in between 10-20% of its fleet standing at certain times, which impacted revenue.

Operating costs and a reliance on expensive agency labour also eroded its margins and when Covid-related lockdowns were eased, Bomfords was hit with higher than anticipated delivery volumes.

In its business review at the time, the company said: “Under the terms of the business’s pallet network agreement, some of these deliveries ended up being at the cost of the business which further eroded margin.”

Kroll and the haulage company had not commented as we went to press.

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