Members back RHA's firm CVA and pre-pack stance
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3y Chris Druce and Christopher Walton THE ROAD Haulage Association's (RHA) decision to take a hard line on operators entering into company voluntary arrangements (CVAs), or making use of pre-pack administrations, has proved popular with its membership.
"Anyone who enters into a CVA is trading at a commercial advantage compared with the majority of operators," said John Howells, RHA director for the Eastern and Southern region, of the policy announcement made earlier this month ( CM 7 February).
Howells said that while there were often genuine reasons for operators to restructure debt, the RHA now rightly had a process of oversight to apply to any members using these legal processes.
While the RHA is not actively searching for companies in its membership that are in CVAs (those emerging as new businesses after a pre-pack exercise have their membership removed as a matter of course), Howells said: "As we come across them, we will deal with them." He added that the membership was highly active in regards this point.
All firms barred from membership can reapply to their regional councils, who will then refer any operators that they are concerned about to the RHA's executive board for a final decision.
• Gary Bethnal, the chairman of Elite Transport Services, has told ClUof his "strong desire" to turn the business around, after creditors voted to back a CVA at the container haulier. He said the decision to enter a CVA was not taken lightly — but was preferable to a pre-pack.
"It has been a tough couple of months, but there is a dear sense of the business being able to move on," he said. "What we've done was the best option available to us, but it is not a place where we want to be.
"A pre-pack was never on the cards. With a CVA, while yes, you are dumping some of your responsibffities, you are taking the hard route to turning the business around," he added.
• See letters on page 12 for more.