Background

C&H Hauliers had a turnover of approximately £20 million, and was part of the Charles Gee Group, which was suffering significant cash pressures. Following the Group’s request for additional financial support the lender identified various breaches of the existing invoice discounting facilities, and was unwilling to advance additional funds. With the company unable to meet payments to creditors, the directors took steps to place it into administration.

Action

Partners from FRP were appointed as joint administrators and successfully traded the business for a short period, while carrying out an extensive review of the business and assets. The sale process was intensive and included FRP contacts, competitors and the wider market. The trading of the business included the management of a large fleet of logistics vehicles across Europe, and the associated operational difficulties.

Outcome

The joint administrators were able to successfully sell the business, securing sufficient consideration to repay the secured lender in full and make a distribution to unsecured creditors – a far more favorable outcome than initially anticipated by the lender. The sale of the business protected several jobs and assisted in securing the principal asset, the debtor ledger. Following the sale there was also a very successful debt collection process resulting in significant recoveries for the bank and creditors in general.