Creditors owed large amounts after Melton haulier's collapse

Administrators from Alvarez & Marsal were called in last March at S&J European Haulage, which was based at Melton Commercial Park at Asfordby Hill.

The company had operated for 44 years and its collapse resulted in the redundancy of 82 people employed in warehousing and storage services and pallet distribution, as well as haulage work.

And a progress report published by the administrators reveals that secured creditor Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance only received a fraction of the £1.6M it was owed.

There was £1.1M raised from trade debtors and sale of assets at the site but this amount was insufficient to pay what was owed to Lloyds and the £500,000 owed to HMRC, which did not receive anything.

Pension arrears were found to be £42,000 and all unsecured creditors, including the staff, did not receive a penny.

It is a sad ending for a business which was launched in 1980 by Steve and Jane Haines with just one van, growing to more than 50 vehicles at its height.

Rising fuel and labour costs plus the loss of a million-pound contract which the firm was unable to replace were cited as reasons for the firm collapsing,

In the company’s accounts, for the year ending November 30, 2022, the directors highlighted serious challenges being faced through trading after Brexit, the Covid pandemic and ‘geopolitical events such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine’.