Receivers at Placketts
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by Miles Brignall • Nottingham-based parcel delivery firm Placketts is in the hands of administrative receivers less than a year after being taken over by Impact Logistics.
All 650 staff at 12 depots and the Telford hub were laid off as receivers Finn Associates moved in after the banks pulled the plug on the 250-vehicle group.
Staff at the Telford hub held a sit-in on Wednesday 21st January to hold out for owed wages. Police were called as receiver Paul Finn negotiated the release of parcels still at the site with a promise of wages. Workers celebrated with champagne when an agreement was reached at midnight.
They worked through the weekend to clear the backlog of parcels as it became clear that other firms were threatened by thefreeze on deliveries.
Alan Tiplady of the Transport & General Workers Union describes the closure as: "A very black day for the Midlands.
"Placketts ran as a family business for 62 years until the Impact take-over last January," he adds. "It made significant investments in new technologies -but the banks were not prepared to wait." he says.
Observers of this fiercely competitive sector have long felt that the market had too many players and it was inevitable that one would fall.
Creditors have three weeks to make an application but Paul Finn remains optimistic.
"Ten parties have already expressed an interest in the business, particularly in one of the depots," he says.
Contact Kevin Murphy at Finn Associates on 071353 2082.