1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190 
Sad end to a long story
Page 28
Page 29
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Ken Abram Ltd is the latest in a long series of respected family haulage firms to hit the roas. Chris Tindall and Bridget Carter report.
he administration and winding down of Skelmersdale, Lancs-based Ken Abram Ltd marks a sad, though unfortunately not unusual, end to another family-run transport firm. The firm was set up in 1962 and, according to its website, prided itself on its "hands-on management" and "attention to detail". Its distinctive red, yellow and white livery was a familiar sight around the country and the 70 drivers clearly took pride in their vehicles. One of them, Ian Meadows, won the Best Working Truck award at Truckfest North-West in 2004.
Go back 11 years and the firm's health was such that expansion plans were being put into practice. In 1995 it acquired an international licence and entered negotiations with an Austrian firm about regular runs between Harrogate and Vienna. The company also contemplated operating swap-bodies from the railhead at Trafford Park. Press reports at that time noted that it had acquired six Scania 113s, six Mercedes-Benz Powerliners and two Renault Magnums.
But less than two years later its ambitious plans had gone awry: accountants at Leonard Curtis were called in by the High Court to sort out its finances. Administrator Dermot Power speculated that a number of new contracts taken on by Ken Abram "at very tight prices" might have led to its financial difficulties.
Standing on its own two feet
"Our aim is to run the company to a stage where it can stand on its own two feet," Power reported. "We've had a number of approaches to buy the firm but it is not our present intention to sell it. If it later transpires that would be in the best interest of all concerned we will then look at that option." (CM 19 December 1996) In the event the company continued to trade until two weeks ago. But its financial problems go back several years. According to analysts at Plimsoll Publishing, its difficulties were apparent in 2002; by 2003/04 its short-term borrowing was as high as £414,000 and in 2004 borrowing hit £721,000. It also had a bank overdraft of £117,000.
It's not yet clear if the Abram family will get hack into haulage; none of the directors, who include Jean, Michael, Philip and Ken Abram, were available for comment as Commercial Motor went to press.
No effect on parent
The parent operation, Ken Abram (Holdings) and its warehousing arm, Ken Abram Warehousing, are unaffected by the administration of the haulage operation. Ken Abram (Holdings) made a £120,214 pre-tax profit for the year ending 31 July 2004: the warehousing business's most up-to-date accounts, for the year ended 31 March 2005, indicate that the company did not trade during that period.
In fact the answer to the Abrams' future might lie in a new company that was incorporated at Companies House earlier this year.
On 10 January Ken Abram Transport Ltd was registered, with the same directors and company secretary as Ken Abram Ltd, with the exception of Kenneth Abram himself. So far this company has not traded; a spokesman for the Vehicle and Operator Standards Agency confirms that Ken Abram Transport Ltd has yet to apply for an 0-licence, The beleaguered haulage contractor's story is not unusual, as the news pages of CM regularly testify. As one operator based close to Ken Abram says: its a shame.They're not the first and they certainly won't be the last the way the industry is at the moment. It's a declining market.There's a down turn, and the business just isn't there — they've obviously been up against it," •