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Eddie Stobart's Eastern Area licence hangs in the balance
Page 10
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Eddie Stobart has appeared before TC Geoffrey Simms in a bid to clear
up confusion over its Eastern Traffic Area licence. Mike Jewell reports.
THE FUTURE OF high-profile haulier Eddie Stobart's Eastern Traffic Area licence is uncertain after an inconclusive public inquiry.
A Transport Tribunal ruling (CM 20 October 2005) had forced Eastern Traffic Commissioner Geoffrey Simms to reconsider his revocation of the licence for lack of finance and competence.
The firm had failed to notify him of a change of ownership and no transport manager had been put in place following the resignation of Edward Stobart as a director. Neither had Simms been given enough financial information to support its 290-truck licence.
Reserved judgment
This time round Simms said he would he satisfied with Eddie Stobart's finances and professional competence if the company was seeking a new licence, hut he reserved judgment on whether to take action against its existing Eastern Traffic Area licence.
Appearing for the company. Stephen Kirkbright accepted that it had no one to blame but itself. The financial evidence submitted at the last inquiry was complex and unclear. He also accepted that the appointment of one transport manager, based in Carlisle, for the whole country did not meet the requirement for professional competence but since then more transport managers had been appointed throughout the country.
lithe company's proposals in the Eastern Traffic Area were unacceptable, Kirkbright added, it would consent to any direction by the TC on the number of transport managers required for that licence.
Questioning if the company required an international licence in the Eastern Traffic Area, Kirkbright said that two vehicles engaged entirely on international operations, which were specified on the company's North-Western Licence and controlled from Warrington, were parked in the Eastern Traffic Area every three weeks while the drivers took their weekly rest purely because they lived there.
He pointed out that these vehicles were controlled from Warrington. where there were two international CPC holders, both of whom had now been nominated on the Eastern Area licence.
Assistant logistics director David Meir said the company was authorised to run 910 vehicles across the country. The financial requirement in the Eastern Area was f733,800 out of a national total of 0,116,400. A Lim overdraft facility had never been needed and another .£5(X),000 overdraft was available on a current account.
Meir said in the year ending I c ruary 2005 the company had made f1.9m, compared with a loss of 18.8m the previous year. Net assets totalled £9.7m.
Thrnover for the nine months to the end of November was £105m with a pre-tax profit of 1.3.5m. After everything was paid each day, there was a surplus of ±2.9m on the company's invoice discounting arrangement.
Kirkbright said there were no allegations regarding sub-contractors being twisted, the use of unlicensed subcontractors, or unpaid debts. He argued that the company's financial standing seemed to he exceptionally strong.
Producing a chart showing the management structure, Kirkbright said it was dramatically different to what had been shown at the last public inquiry All the transport managers had weekly meetings with MD William Stobart. There were three international CPC holders nominated as transport managers in the Eastern Traffic Area.
Every licence William Stamm a national CPC holder, strongly believed that as MD he should be nominated as a transport manager on every single licence. A total of 27 other people were also nominated as transport managers on the various licences.
Kirkbright also mentioned that the company had taken all the advice the TC had given on the last occasion it appeared before him.
Reserving his decision. the TC said that he wanted to look at the position in some detail.
Kirkbright pointed out that the company was trading successfully: it was patently of sufficient financial standing, and met the requirement in relation to professional competence. He suggested it would -beggar belief if the TC revoked its licence now.