Surprise losses hit Freight Transfer
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• Portsmouth-based Freight Transfer ceased trading last week and is expected to go into voluntary liquidation early next month after the discovery of huge losses in its latest set of audited accounts.
More than 200 creditors, including at least a dozen hauliers, are expected to be represented at the creditors meeting planned for 8 October at the Dolphin Hotel in Southampton.
The collapse also threatens the future of tractive unit operator PVF, also based at Portsmouth, although the latest accountants to be appointed to Freight Transfer hope PVF will manage to survive.
Freight Transfer managing director Paul Fogden is also a director of 16-vehicle PVF, which is one of Freight Transfer's largest creditors. The two domestic and international operators worked together— Freight Transfer's trailers were often pulled by PVF's trucks.
Problems at Freight Transfer began to emerge in April after the £4m-turnover company's audited accounts failed to marry with previous management figures. However, the company knows it suffered losses during last December's French drivers' blockade and its financial director left in January.
Attempts since the spring to investigate the discrepancies have been hampered by missing financial records.
Mark Liddle from corporate recovery specialists and accountants Bell Nevill says: "We have no idea of Freight Transfer's true losses."