Ten drivers go at SAY • Stuart Yates' Derbyshirebased general
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haulage firm SAY Transport called in the receiver last week, following a string of bad debts. Ten drivers have been left jobless.
Yates is well known in the industry for his regular appearances at Commercial Motor Truckfest. Last summer he cut his fleet from 20 to 10: the final blow came last week when Pentagon Vehicle Rental took him to court over outstanding payments for trucks which it repossessed in September. The case has been adjourned.
Receiver Peat Marwick says a major factor in SAY's downfall was the financial commitment it made with contract hire: "The company had high fixed outgoings so any lull in work became dangerous." It is looking for a buyer for SAY's yard and buildings at Turnditch, near Derby as well as a stock of spares, goodwill and the name of the business, which turned over £2.5m in the 12 months to August 1991.
Unsecured creditors, including subcontractors, are unlikely to get a penny from the proceeds. The 10 drivers will be paid arrears of up to £205 a week for eight weeks and outstanding holiday pay by the Department of Employment. Pending that payment, Peat Marwick has given them a loan.
One of SAY's subcontracters is owed £1,500 and says the debt will make cashflow at his company very tight. "We will be all right if everything rolls along nicely, but if we have an engine failure we would probably have to lay somebody off temporarily" he says.
But he does not blame Yates: "It was people who went bang on him that caused the problem, he didn't go out and squander his money. He felt a pristine fleet would win him business."
Yates declined to comment.