Widdowson Logistics, part of the Davis Haulage Group, has entered administration once again.

The move came a month after stablemate Davis Haulage, which was subject to a company voluntary arrangement, also appointed administrators and was subsequently purchased by Buffaload Logistics.

Papers filed in the Manchester District Registry state that Widdowson Logistics, which traded out of the Mill Lane Industrial Estate in Leicester, appointed insolvency practitioners from Leonard Curtis on 23 January.

It was only incorporated in May 2016 to facilitate a pre-pack administration of AM Widdowson & Son in July of that year, which left creditors £13m out of pocket.

DVSA records show that a licence under the name of the Davis Haulage Group, with the same contact address as Widdowson Logistics, is consideration by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner.

No-one from Leonard Curtis responded.

In December, Motortansport.co.uk reported that the Birds Transport & Logistics name, some assets and the business were believed to have been sold to Widdowson Logistics.

Companies House lists a newly incorporated business Birds Transport Leicester, which is registered at Widdowson Logistics' Mill Lane address.

However, a source close to the deal has suggested this "merger" may have fallen away, possibly prompting the latest administration.

A business for sale

Leonard Curtis released a circular in November 2016 “urgently seeking interested parties in regards to the sale of the business and assets of a UK based haulage company”.

Listed with an annual turnover of £6m, operating from a leasehold premises with a long standing customer base, the unnamed business had 82 employees.

Evidence of an O-licence with the availability for more than 70 vehicles and approximately 200 trailers was required too. The deadline for offers  for the business was 30 November 2016 with a completion date of 2 December.

Interested parties were required to sign an NDA, and Leonard Curtis has not commented on the identity of the unnamed business to date but Motortransport.co.uk understands it was Widdowson Logistics.

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