Unsecured Dodd’s creditors unlikely to see any cash
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By Christopher Walton THE INVESTIGATION by administrator MCR into the collapse of 21st Century Logistics, which traded as Dodd’s Group, says non-preferential creditors will not be paid, despite the company having an outstanding ledger in excess of £1.6m.
Joint administrators Jason Godefroy and Paul Williams say that a creditors’ meeting will not be convened as the company will have “insuficient property” to pay non-preferential, unsecured creditors the total of £923,893 owed when the irm entered administration on 25 August.
However, on MCR’s appointment, Dodd’s debtor ledger was £1.63m, while book debt realisations stood at £630,068. Creditors with debts totalling at least 10% were set to have an initial creditors’ meeting before CM went to press.
One source, who wished to remain anonymous, questioned why creditors would not be paid, given the outstanding money owed.
MCR was unavailable for comment on how further realisa
tions of Dodd’s ledger debt were progressing.
According to a statement of administrators’ proposals iled at Companies House last week, Dodd’s had seen its turnover fall under the ownership of Fredrik Helander (CM 13 October), who acquired the company on 18 April via his business Millmax. In draft results for the period from 30 September 2010 to 30 June 2011, turnover stood at £6.3m, while the retained loss was £141,613. In the 12 months from 30 September 2009 to 2010, turnover was £7.8m with a retained loss of £313,841. The administrators note that Dodd’s had been loss-making since 2008.
MCR also reveals that after Helander purchased the business earlier this year, he entered into a sale and leaseback for the assets of the company with Close Asset Finance and Shilling Mergers for a combined sum of £310,000.
Dodd’s vehicles and trailers, which were under a variety of hire purchase and lease agreements, are now under instruction of Hilco Europe to return the assets to their owners.