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Nightowl flies on while buyer is sought
Page 14
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TRUCKSTOP OPERATOR Nightowl will continue to operate normally while a buyer is sought for the group, according to the business's administrator.
Kenneth Touhey from Hovebased administrators Chantrey Vellacott says: "We will continue to trade the whole of the business. We are confident of selling the whole of the business as a going concern and therefore saving a major proportion of its employment base.
"We are in discussions with several potential buyers."
The UK's biggest truckstop operator called in the administrators just three days before Christmas, making about 30 people redundant and leaving drivers facing a potential parking crisis.
Rumours had been circulating for weeks about the state of the Alconbury-based firm's finances after it shut its fuel pumps, cut its opening hours and raised parking rates by up to 70% at some sites (CM1 January).
There is speculation that if a buyer cannot be found for the whole of the business the sites might be sold off individually.
Drivers stress the importance of these facilities. Malcolm Fisher, who works for Ark International, says: "I'd still rather use a Nightowl [site] than any lay-by or industrial estate right now. I think they have gone downhill over the years, but to lose them altogether would be bad — we need more parking, not less."
Road Haulage Association chief executive Roger King agrees: "This is a real setback for the cause of secure truck parking. Everyone knows that the need for such facilities is growing, although their provision cannot be 'at any price'."
The RHA will now hold talks with its partners in the Road Haulage Forum to explore a conunor approach to the Department foi Transport to see what can be done to secure a long-term future foi truck parking.
Nightowl declined to comment