Coke bar for Barnfather
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by Karen Miles • The business bought from the troubled operator Barnfather by AAH Holdings took a battering last week as Coca-Cola barred the company from working out of its Wakefield plant.
The move is a significant blow for AAH Distribution Services which bought most of the business and assets of Durhambased Barnfather last month, leaving a residual Barnfather Ltd to go into liquidation. It marks the end of Barnfather's three years' work from the site and is believed to have resulted from the bad publicity surrounding its collapse last month.
Neither AAH nor Ian Matthews — former Barnfather director and now working as general manager at AAH Leed's depot — were available for comment on the effect of the loss of the business.
But AAH's other major customer from the Barnfather deal, drinks manufacturer Baracloughs, says its will continue to use AAH, assuring it of the £2m a year revenue.
The loss of the business is expected to come as good news to the many small hauliers owed thousands of pounds by Barnfather and disowned by new owners AAH. Barnfather crashed, also owing National Westminster £1.5m, shortly after the AAH deal.
The size of debts owed to the large number of small hauliers, estimated by some at 450, is becoming clearer. A dozen members of the north-eastern section of the Road Haulage Association are owed a total of £100,000. They will join other creditors at the meeting on 19 November when Barnfather formally goes into liquidation.
Knottingly-based Pullman Haulage says it is owed £16,000 by Barnfather. Of this £700 is owed by Barnfather Freight, the Felixstowe-based container haulier which has David Parkinson, a former Barnfather director, as its fmancial director.