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Sale of assets saves jobs at Sandy Bruce
Page 6
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A deal between collapsed haulier Sandy Bruce Trucking and rival UFD will mean "the minimisation of job losses". Chris Tindall reports.
CORPORATE RECOVERY experts battling to save Aberdeen operator Sandy Bruce Trucking (SBT) say the sale of some of its business and assets to United Freight Distribution (UFD) has saved many jobs.
Early last week, drivers at the firm were expressing increasing concern over its financial status by 8 August, administrators from Deloitte had been appointed by the directors to sort out the firm's problems.
Joint administrator John Reid says SBT had been"facing financial difficulties for some time and this ultimately led to the directors concluding that they could no longer continue to trade". The sale to UFD comes just weeks after SBT decided to close its loss-making Hull depot (CM 6July).
SBT had been talking to UFD about selling its assets before the administrators were appointed. Deloitte was able to broker a deal between the two companies and a sale was announced two days later.
"A sale of certain businesses and assets of the company has been achieved which has resulted in the minimisation of job losses." Reid reports.
"Had the company proceeded into formal insolvency without such an offer... the company's operations would have ceased within a matter of days with the resulting loss of all jobs" UFD says 80 jobs have been saved across Scotland:43 at SBT's Aberdeen depot and another 36 at Coatbridge. However all 28 jobs have been lost at the Ford depot in West Sussex. In all, about 60 staff have been laid off.
One former SBT employee says: We won't get paid on Friday for last week's work, overtime and Monday and Tuesday this week. There's nothing we can do about it."
Brian Kemp, UFD managing director, says: -Integrating the Sandy Bruce business into UFD's depot network will ensure the continuity of service to existing customers "I've known Sandy Bruce for many years and was personally disappointed to learn of SBT's difficulties"