Gefco to join Ceva Logistics

Lost work pushed Pro-Driver Logistics into administration

A Leicester-based national vehicle delivery firm collapsed into administration after losing a significant contract worth £100,000 of revenue per month.

Pro-Driver Logistics was described by administrators at Begbies Traynor as “historically profitable”, but it began to struggle when its key client, motorway.co.uk, reduced its work by 90% overnight in October 2021.

In a report to creditors, Begbies Traynor said that by February 2022 the company, which relied on subcontractors to move vehicles under trade plates but also held a licence authorising 10 HGVs, had lost over 30 of its subbies as it had lost so much work.

Pro-Driver Logistics entered administration last month, but its director Jonathan Ronchetti believed it could attract work from other customers and so a pre-packaged sale of the business and assets was arranged. A connected business, Weston Wood House, put in an offer of £108,250 which was eventually agreed, with the sale going through on 7 April. The director of Weston Wood House is Ronchetti’s wife Susan. Pro-Driver Logistics owed 29 trade and expense creditors around £39,000.  A Herts-based TV and film logistics firm

has entered administration after more than 15 years of trading. Mentmore Investments, which traded as Green Clover, operated a fleet of 45ft curtainsiders and box trailers and 18-tonne HGVs out of its premises in Berkhamsted.

Deal will see automotive specialist integrated into Ceva Logistics EC agrees Gefco sale to CMA CGM

By Carol Millett

Shipping and logistics giant CMA CGM Group is to acquire nearly 100% of the capital of automotive logistics specialist Gefco in a move which will see the logistics specialist integrated into the group’s subsidiary Ceva Logistics.

The European Commission has authorised CMA CGM to acquire the capital of Gefco pending a final approval that will take place in the coming months.

Gefco specialises in automotive logistics, with particular expertise in finished vehicle logistics. It has customers in the aerospace, pharmaceuticals, energy and retail sectors, operates a network spanning 47 countries, and has around 11,500 staff around the world.

CMA CGM Group said the acquisition would strengthen the range of logistics services that Ceva Logistics, its logistics subsidiary, provides to its customers, especially in France and the rest of Europe. It added that Gefco would benefit in the future from Ceva Logistics’ expertise and network, enabling it to expand both its business and its customer portfolio.

Yodel adds pair to leadership team

Yodel has made two senior appointments to support further operational development.

Stuart Craig (pictured) has been named new head of transport and will oversee the company’s delivery operations.

He has over 20 years’ experience in fleet and operations management, having previously spent 10 years in leadership roles at DPD, as well as eight years with World Fuel Services.

Meanwhile, new head of sort Steve Byrne brings over 35 years’ experience in the handling and sortation of parcels and will oversee the company’s processing operations.

Having previously held senior positions with Royal Mail and Hermes, he is said to have a strong background in technology and innovation.

Overhead charging the best bet for HGVs of the future, study finds

Powering electric HGVs via overhead charging cables is a much cheaper solution for decarbonising the haulage sector than other methods, according to a mechanical engineer overseeing a government-funded project into the idea.

Professor David Cebon, at the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight (CSRF), said topping up much smaller batteries on HGVs through catenary cables on the road was “the most technologically ready” system for road freight and was “surprisingly effective”.

He was speaking after a consortium that included the CSRF, Scania, Siemens Mobility and SPL Powerlines completed the first stage of a feasibility study into longhaul electrified HGVs.

Cebon said there were similar systems running in Germany, Sweden and the US and they relied on the same technology as electric trains

“It’s not just a fantasy in the UK, there’s quite a lot of interest in Europe, India and China,” he said.

NEW TENANTS: Panattoni has fully let its 1.7 million sq ft logistics park in Northampton after signing lease agreements for the last two units with iForce and Hotel Chocolat. E-fulfilment provider iForce has signed wa 10-year lease for 376,915sq ft and Hotel Chocolat a 10-year lease for 429,107sq ft.