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Former CRS owner 'fighting back' against accusations
Page 10
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An administrator's report into the collapse of a Scottish haulage firm
has prompted a robust response. Chris Tindall reports.
THE ORIGINAL OWNER of a failed transport company which went to the wall owing almost £900,000 to creditors says the administrator's report into its demise is -very inaccurate".
Gary Keenan. who ran CRS 24:7 in Scotland until its sale in May to directors of Lancashire-based Fasiserv, says he will be taking legal advice on the report by accountants BegbiesTraynor after it blamed much of the firm's collapse on him.
Keenan describes the report as -far from the truth". And he says he would welcome police involvement in investigations into allegations of diverted work and a huge fall in turnover in the weeks leading up to the firm's sale.
The administrator's report claims Fastserv directors Andrew Cro11 and Barry Stanley "conducted a cursory examination of the available informationafter meeting Keenan to discuss pur chasing the company, but says they failed to carry out a due diligence exercise (CA/15 October).
Just weeks after they bought the company the directors were forced to bring in administrators following mounting debts and "extreme pressure" from creditors. Keenan believes there could be around 20 subcontractors who are owed money.
But he adds that CRS's problems were due to the new owners failing to appreciate the size of the business and he stresses that he resents being blamed for its failings "The problem is the administrators are only going on part of the story," he says. "They have to take the current information from the directors. As soon as I read the report I went to my lawyers: Keenan says Eastserv account ants spent "six or seven weeks" poring over his accounts.
"You don't take on a £6m business without checking it out." he adds.-They are making me out to be the had guy, but I'm fighting back."
Ryan Bell, who is owed £6,000 by CRS 24:7, says he has received demands for £970 from the firm for trailer hire, hut won't be paying:"I swear to God I would rather put everything in the middle of the park and burn it all Keenan is now involved with another transport company, Corporate Road Solutions, based in West Calder, West Lothian.
Neither Cro11 and Stanley nor Begbies Traynor were available for comment as CM went to press.