Legal threat I
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lexday franchisees
• Desperate Nexday franchisees who have sent customers bills since the recent £.3m crash of parent company Speedwell Group, have been warned that they are acting illegally and could be charged with fraud and theft.
"The franchisees are sub-contractors of Nexday and are not entitled to invoice their customers," says liquidator Melvyn Langley of London firm, Sorskys.
He points out that Nexday customers were invoiced centrally from Speedwell's Congleton, Cheshire base. But now some franchisees are attempting to collect debts directly.
The 35 Nexday franchisees are among many unsecured creditors who are owed £793,000 by Nexday, which has total debts of more than £1.3m. "For the franchisees to issue invoices or credit notes makes a mockery of balance sheets," says Langley, who admits that he can offer "no joy or hope to any class of creditor". He warns Nexday franchisees issuing invoices that they could face legal action.
In a separate development, former Speedwell customers who used the group's general distribution services have received a letter from a company called STD Ltd offering to continue a haulage service. The letters have come from Frean Hollow in Langley, near Macclesfield, Cheshire.
Last week North Western Licensing Authority Martin Albu wrote to Speedwell issuing a 14-day notice of revocation of the 0-licence he issued in April 1989 to Speedwell Transport and Distribution, The grounds for revocation are that the firm to which the licence was issued no longer trades.
The LA is also concerned that a change of name took place although his spokeswoman says he was not consulted by Speedwell.
Now Speedwell's 0-licence will automatically become void when the 14-day notice period ends next week, unless it can present any new information for the LA to consider.
A spokeswoman for Albu says that he was originally approached by Speedwell days before the liquidator's meeting on 8 June.
Directors wanted to meet the LA to discuss the group's problems, but the LA declined because of the pending decision on the revocation of Speedwell's 0-licence.
Remaining vehicles at Speedwell are on hire from Charrington Contract Hire in Stoke-onTrent, which wants them back (CM 11-17 June).
Four Speedwell companies were liquidated with debts of more than £3m on 8 June but the liquidator has kept Frean Developments afloat; Frean owns Speedwell property worth £1.3m.
Langley explained to creditors that if Frean Developments was liquidated it was likely the property would be sold in a "fire" sale, realising far less than its value. "Frean will be liquidated once the property is sold," says Langley.
Fred Stevens resigned as Speedwell boss after a heart attack, but he has offered to pay something out of his own assets to meet the group's debts. He owns a house valued at £200,000 and a second home abroad — "I may end up losing my home," he told creditors last week.
LI A feature on Nexday will appear next week.