Anglo in administration

UK freight forwarder Anglo Overseas has gone into administration after receiving a claim of around £1.5m (US$1.9m) from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Its administrator, Vantis Business Recovery Services, said the business was forced into insolvency following a prolonged period of exceptionally difficult trading conditions, in addition to a compromise agreement with HMRC over a VAT irregularity which, as was acknowledged, was not the fault of the company or its staff.

This, compounded with cash flow restrictions, had resulted in the withdrawal of support from its parent company, Ziegler, culminating in the appointment of administrators.

Vantis said 70 of the company’s 210 staff had been made redundant.

Glyn Mummery, of Vantis, told IFW that a deal had been agreed in principle for Ziegler UK, another subsidiary of the Ziegler group, to take over seven of Anglo’s 15 sites.

Anglo was issued with the cash demand in November after becoming embroiled in a VAT fraud investigation involving alcohol imported into the UK.

After it was issued with the claim, Anglo’s bankers asked the forwarder to refinance, but it was not able to find any interested financial sources and went into administration on 16 January.

Mummery said: "The claim lodged against the company was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

It obviously impacted its balance sheet, making the business unattractive to its banks.

"They would then attempt to get the business to re-finance, and where we are at the moment, if you’re trying to do that, you haven’t got much hope.",/p>

Anglo turned to its European parent, Ziegler Group, for support, which it was unable to provide.

Mummery said the company had been unprofitable for "quite a long period" because of low volumes and high overheads.

It added the Ziegler group was not affected as a part of immediate cost-cutting measures.

He said Vantis was arranging delivery of any goods in Anglo warehouses, subject to terms and conditions, and was advertising its two bonded warehouses for sale.

Mummery said: "We are working closely with the management team to assess the opportunities to rescue all or parts of the business.

"Anglo Overseas has a great deal of heritage and is highly respected in the marketplace.

"It operates what is probably the second largest bonded warehouse in London." Bifa’s Peter Quantrill said: "As a trade association, Bifa has a long-standing policy of not commenting on the business activities and developments of its member companies.

"Clearly there is no panacea for the current economic situation affecting our members’ business, but rather than comment on individual cases, we intend to focus our efforts as a trade association on delivering the advisory, representative, lobbying, information and training services which will help our members get through this challenging period.

"At the same time, we send our best wishes to all members of staff at Anglo Overseas."