COLLAPSE OF AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST COLDCHAIN REFRIGERATION TRANSPORT COMPANY

factors that were out of their hands.

In the aftermath of the announcement, KordaMentha were appointed receivers and set about finding a new long-term owner. They anticipated ‘high interest’ in the business and its assets considering its significance in the cold chain supply system in Australia.

Reported by The Australian, as many as 20 buyers were at one point interested in taking the company on – but some were put off by the ageing fleet and large debts.

In the end, no one was found to buy the business from owners Anchorage Capital Partners, a private-equity company that bought Scott’s in 2020 for A$75 million.

When news broke late February that one of Australia’s largest trucking firms which services major supermarkets - Scott's Refrigerated Logistics had been placed in voluntary administration many asked, “How did it happen?”

All of industry has been through the natural disasters, broken supply chains, rising prices and are still contending with the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and yes many businesses have failed over this time, but no one expected it to be one this large.

The company’s directors blamed the business failure on the high cost of maintaining an ageing fleet plus the above