Haulier who ‘phoenixed’ former company loses licence appeal
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roger.brown@rbi.co.uk A haulage operator that admitted to a Trafic Commissioner (TC) that he had “phoenixed” a former business has failed in his appeal bid to obtain a new O-licence.
Manchester-based Paul Boomer lost his appeal at the Upper Tribunal against the written decision of North Western TC Beverley Bell made in October 2010, when she refused his company, Carousel, a licence for two vehicles to carry waste foam products.
At the public inquiry last September, the TC was told how eight separate companies Boomer had been involved with in the past had been dissolved.
Of these, three had held O-licences that had been revoked.
Boomer explained to the TC that during the dissolution of one business he had “phoenixed the company”, meaning he had put it into liquidation to abandon the debts, and then set up another entity with the same underlying business and personnel but without the liabilities.
He admitted he had also issued an invitation to suppliers to this company to “load their invoices” when he was trading again. The TC heard how in the past Boomer had received convictions for four offences relating to extensive unauthorised use of unlicensed vehicles.
He had also been disqualiied as a company director for six years in 2007.
On appeal, Boomer said three of the business failures had been explicable: one due to rapidly increasing oil prices, and two due to seasonal factors relating to a garden furniture business he ran.
However, appeal Judge Frances Burton described Boomer’s behaviour as “unacceptable” and described his use of phoenix companies as an “absolute anathema” to TCs.
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