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Edward &abaft says Boat* failure cost him 'nearly Elm'
Page 7
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By Chris TintiaLt TRANSPORT LEGEND Edward Stobart (pictured) says the failure of Boalloy Fastnick Bodies has personally cost him almost Elm, and the court's decision to wind it up stems from a long-running argument with British Gas.
In an exclusive interview with CM. Stobart says he sympathises with former staff who are angry over non-payment of redundancy and holiday pay, but that lawyers acting on behalf of British Gas stepped in before he could put the company into receivership.
Boalloy Fastruck Bodies is in compulsory liquidation, with a debt of /1.4m (CM 29 October). Stobart says the economic downturn led to a drop in orders for commercial body building, hut the
company was already in dispute with the energy supplier after it put the firm on an emergency rate when he first purchased it.
He says: "They were overcharging me. We just refused to pay."
He says he had lined up a company to help put the business into receivership, but British Gas' successful petition in the Royal Courts of Justice scuppered his plans.
Stobart says he will continue to sell Boalloy parts and spares via his Boalloy Industries firm.
He adds: "If it makes [ex-employees] feel any better, the biggest loser was myself. You reported that there is a 11.4m debt, well twothirds of that is my debt. I sympathise with them, but there was nothing else we could do."
The Tribunals Service says employment tribunals lined up to handle claims from ex-staff have been postponed for now.
Sharon Barlow, who says she is owed seven weeks' pay, says: "I am not going to let it drop."
British Gas did not respond.
• An invest gation into Boalloy Fastruck Bodies follows shortly.