No full licence for now after pre-pack deal
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A COVENTRY operator has been given interim authority to run LGVs after it entered a pre-pack deal and bought assets belonging to a failed haulier.
Traffic commissioner (TC) for the North East Kevin Rooney said he would consider granting RA Freight Hire a full licence when he was satisfied it met the requirements. The firm bought financed assets belonging to Tyne & Wearbased JF International for £35,000 after it entered administration in July. The remaining assets were bought by Lisbon-based Natasha Transportes Unipessoal, which is associated with RA Freight Hire.
At a public inquiry (PI) in Leeds JF International director Jose Ferreira said his firm's insolvency was caused by a strike by Brittany Ferries in 2012, plus a stoppage of the production line at Nissan, its biggest customer.
The TC told Ferreira he must become director of RA Freight Hire before 4 December and provide executive support to the sole director until then. An independent audit must be conducted to ensure systems are in place for defect checking and accountants must gauge the firm's financial viability.
Andrew Ramsay, at administrator RSM Tenon, said RA Freight Hire bought the financed assets because it was less likely that finance firms would agree to them being transferred to Portugal. Before the PI, Ferreira told CM that Natasha Transportes, run by his daughter, would be subcontracting work to the Coventry firm. "We are its office in England," he said.