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Riding the roller coaster
Page 19
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Richard Wild mounted a high-profile campaign against Tesco — and was back in the news when his firm folded. Chris Tindall reports.
RICHARD WILD'S YEAR so far has been a roller coaster of victories and despair, from his apparent success against the might ofTesco to the eventual liquidation of his transport business.
Wild came to the general public's attention in March, when he was able to engineer a public dispute with Tesco to recoverf320,000 he claimed was owed to his busine.ss,Wild Logistics LIT A TV crew filmed his protest outside an RDC in Nursling, near Southampton, and the press eagerly followed up on the story. The result was that within 24 hours Tesco had agreed to cough up "substantial sums". Wild's place in haulage folklore was duly established.
However, within weeks he was experiencing the flip side of media coverage when his own drivers started accusing him of non-payment. The cracks in his business were starting to show and by June CM reported that the Redditch-based company, now known as Wild Changeover LLP, had been forced to cease trading with a deficiency of £571,190.71 recorded on the Estimated Statement of Affairs A subsequent meeting with the liquidator sealed Wild's fate,but the sheer scale of the debts shocked many people."The de bts,in my opinion, for such a short space of time are horrendous," says liquidator Alan Bradstock, of Langley & Partners "But vehicle supply debts have been inflated and are subject to various disputes"
Shortfall
Bradstock says an inquiry will now take place to ascertain how the company, which started trading at the beginning of the year, got into so much trouble so quickly and what money — if any — creditors can expect to receive.
He adds the company believes it can recover more than £200,000 in outstanding debts, but this still leaves a E350,000 shortfall.
Wild places blame for his firm's liquidation on his factoring company, JOE Invoice Finance. He alleges it "went against the implied terms of the agreement" when it "placed a funding limit of f 10,0(X) on each and every [Wild Changeover] customer". He adds:"It appears IGF was within its discretionary rights, leaving the LLP in an impossible situation as to cashflow and ability to meet on its on-going overheads."
But 1G F solicitor Charily Sanghera strongly refutes allegations that its actions led to the demise of Wild's company. She says: In this particular case IGF set the default limit at £1 0,000. Fifteen of Wild Logistics' 56 customers required limits in excess of £10,000. Detailed credit checks were carried out and only three customers' accounts were restricted. A total sum of only L12,000 was therefore withheld due to poor credit ratings."
The report goes on to claim IGF's shareholder, the Greater London Enterprise Council (GLE), raised Wild's limit on appeal_ Regarding this, Sanghera adds: "While [G LE] is a shareholder in IGF, it does not interfere in the commercial decisions of its subsidiaries. IGF is currently owed i174,0(X) by Wild Logistics' customers" Wild says in May a mystery client expressed an interest in acquiring LLP, but that talks collapsed when he discovered the buyers had a history of asset stripping.
Wild has apparently lost a great deal of money, including his house, through the firm's collapse. But not all creditors are moved by this, Driver Ron Ellis, says he is owed over £6,000. He adds: "1 wanted to start my own business, but Richard Wild has destroyed that. I have involved my solicitors now."
And agency driver Michelle Hughes fears for her future if she doesn't get £900 she reckons is owed:"That,C900 is the difference between getting evicted and having a home." •