A SCOTLAND-BASED haulage firm has gone into administration, just two years after being acquired by an English company.
Caledonian Logistics, which employs around 130 staff and has depots in Inverness, Oldmeldrum Kintore, and Cumbernauld, was bought by Drac Logistics in 2022 for an undisclosed fee.
The firm said it has gone into administration due to a lack of financial support from its parent company along with “challenging trading” conditions.
Joint administrators Donald McNaught and Graeme Bain of Glasgow-based accountancy firm Johnston Carmichael were appointed at the end of November.
The firm also owns a parking yard in Lockerbie.
GS Light Haulage, a family firm based in Aberdeen, has bought some Caledonian Logistics assets and has subsequently saved 60 jobs at the Kintore, Inverness, and Lockerbie sites.
GS owner, Johan Skea, confirmed the company had taken over the Palletways contract which will retain jobs.
She said: “With the regrettable downfall of Caledonian Logistics, an opportunity to grow GS came with the offer of a new contract with Palletways.
“GS Light Haulage agreed new terms with Palletways and became a fully paid up member within their network thus securing jobs that would have otherwise been lost with the demise of Caledonian Logistics.
“We also retain the rights to the Caledonian Logistics name.
“We are delighted to play a huge part in saving so many jobs and look forward to working with staff and customers new and old in what is hoped to be a bright future.”
Derek Mitchell founded Caledonian Logistics in 1999 and sold the business to Staffordshire-based Drac Logistics after he decided to retire.
At the time the chief executive of the English firm, Alex Hayes, said the company planned to set up a Caledonian Logistics container haulage division, based in Grangemouth and Aberdeen while investing £600,000 in an additional fleet of 10 vehicles and 14 skeletal trailers.
Despite Caledonian Logistics’s most recent annual results from 2022 showing a turnover of £15.2 million, the company made a pre-tax loss of £800,000.
A spokesperson for the accountancy firm Johnston Carmichael said the haulage firm was unable to make a profit due to “challenging trading”.
The statement read: “While the company had successfully cut costs and increased turnover, it was unable to return to profitability in the short term.
“The company had recently exhausted efforts to sell the company or the underlying business and assets. These efforts were unsuccessful and the company ceased trading prior to administration.
“Fortunately the large majority of jobs were retained as a result of new operators picking up the routes the company serviced with the additional benefit of minimising the impact on customers.”
Drac Logistics has been approached for comment.
