Lloyd Fraser drivers laid off after Focus DIY collapse
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By Chris Druce AROUND 80 LLOYD Fraser drivers have been laid-off following the failure of the Focus DIY chain, CM can reveal. Following the collapse into administration of the 178strong group, which owed business, shareholders and funders £1bn when it failed in May, Lloyd Fraser arm Lloyd Fraser Supply Chain has been placed into liquidation itself, with business recovery irm Cowgill Holloway overseeing the process.
Lloyd Fraser Supply Chain was set up by Rugby-based Lloyd Fraser Group speciically for its Focus DIY transport contract, which was renewed for three years in February 2009.
Staff were based at the retail chain’s Tamworth DC. The DC itself is owned by Wincanton, which provided warehousing for the DIY chain under a three-year deal. The DC closed for business at the end of June, placing 300 Wincanton warehouse staff at risk of redundancy.
Jason Elliott, partner at Cowgill Holloway, conirms around 80 Lloyd Fraser Supply Chain staff have now been laid off, mostly drivers, after Focus DIY’s administrators Ernst & Young took the decision to windup the business. “At this point it was clear that Lloyd Fraser Supply Chain had no future,” says Elliott, who adds those affected have received all wages owed, as well as payment in lieu of notice, redundancy and holiday, where appropriate.
Lloyd Fraser, which has been left £1.3m out of pocket by the Focus DIY collapse, declined to comment further. Other high-proile names hit by Focus DIY’s failure include construction materials group Aggregate Industries (owed £490,667); Biffa Waste Services (£34,575); Forest Garden, whose transport is handled by Eddie Stobart (£599,889); Nightfreight (£25,422); Tarmac Building Products (£351,859); TNT Post (£295,766); XDP Express Despatch (£23,049) and a host of small transport and parcel irms. Wincanton was unavailable for comment as CM went to press.
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