Receivers called in at Munro Transport
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by David Craik • One of Scotland's largest hauliers, Munro Transport of Aberdeen, has become the final receivership statistic of 1998—one of the worst years ever for the road haulage industry.
The general haulage group, which includes Maclennan's Transport of Aberchirder and WD Munro, also based in Aberdeen, appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers as receiver on 14 December due to "cashflow pressures and increasingly corn / petitive margins".
The receivers have announced 16 redundancies so far; the workforce now stands at 94 people. Munro Transport also owns a fleet of 126 vehicles and 161 trailers.
Despite the redundancies the company is continuing to trade. Alistair McLean, of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Edinburgh explains that Munro Transport finally found its business problems "insurmountable".
McLean adds that there was no single reason, such as the loss of a contract, for the group going into receivership. He is confident that it will be sold as a going concern but says it is too early to release details of its debts.
Munro Transport Group can trace its roots back to 1933: it bought McLennans Transport at the end of the 1980s to strengthen its presence in the north-west area of Grampian. The company declined to comment on the receivership.
7 Early figures from Deloitte & Touche suggest that around 40 hauliers called in the receiver during 1998.
The deadline for offers for the businesses in whole or in part has been set at 16:00hrs on Tuesday 12 January. Contact: 01224 210 100.
Joint receiver Neil Armour says: "A significant number of parties have expressed an interest in the businesses which make up the Munro Transport Group. "We are impressed by the support shown to date by customers," he adds, "and the companies will continue to trade at present levels of activity, serving customers in a wide range of industries throughout the UK."