Clipper buys Dutch rival

Fagan & Whalley profits soar despite market challenges

Lancashire-based logistics firm Fagan & Whalley has shrugged off the impact of Brexit, Covid-19 and rising fuel costs to report a surge in pre-tax profit.

Reporting annual results to 30 April 2021, it said that although turnover grew by just 2.5% in comparison with the previous year, pre-tax profit was £1,47m (2020: £484,862) – an increase of 202.2%. The gross profit margin increased by 4.6% to 24.1%, while retained reserves increased by £867,277 following a dividend of £328,284 to the parent company.

In a review of the transport, distribution and warehousing business, the directors said the principal current uncertainty relates to the price of fuel. However, the company uses variable fuel surcharges to mitigate this risk.

There is also on-going uncertainty relating to the longer-term impact of Brexit on its European distribution network and the effect of Covid-19, which it said had “severely impacted the local economies”.

“Expansion of our operations with the opening of a depot at the Burnley Bridge Business Park ensures jobs are created not only for the local area, but also with promotion opportunities internally for employees,” the review added.

The rm said it had future-proofed operations with IT investment to link depots across Lancashire and the Midlands.

£14.8m deal gives logistics giant major presence across Europe

Clipper snaps up Dutch repair rival

By Carol Millett

Clipper Logistics has forged a £14.8m deal to acquire a Dutch consumer electronic repairs specialist, strengthening the group’s existing repair offering in the UK and mainland Europe.

The company has announced it has agreed to acquire CE Repair Services Group, which provides electronic equipment repairs for global blue-chip companies.

Clipper said the Dordrechtbased company has built a marketleading position across the Benelux region, and generated underlying earnings (EBIT) of £1.61m on revenue of £19.4m last year.

Clipper’s Servicecare and RepairTech businesses repaired more than a million electrical products in the past financial year.

The group said, once completed, the acquisition will extend its geographical footprint in mainland Europe and in particular its presence in the circular economy with a full end-to-end suite of services for online and omnichannel retailers.

Clipper added it has already identified opportunities for cross-selling between CE Repair and Clipper’s existing customer base.

Triple whammy of woe kills off J&J Ashcroft

Lancashire haulier and stone merchant J&J Ashcroft has gone into administration after battling with ill health, the impact of the Covid pandemic and the driver shortage.

David Acland and Lila Thomas of FRP Advisory have been appointed as joint administrators to the family firm, which was founded in 1935.

Jim Ashcroft, MD of J&J Ashcroft, whose grandfather founded the company, said: “We are, as you can imagine, incredibly upset that we have had to take this decision after such a long trading history.”

The administrators confirmed that all staff have been made redundant and they will be supported with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.

TST Group in for Warley Carriers

TST Group has purchased West Bromwich automotive parts distributor Warley Carriers. The family-owned operator specialises in transporting automotive and retail goods between the UK and Ireland and is a member of Pallet Track.

County Antrim-based TST Group said the purchase will allow it to strengthen its position in the market for express, full load transportation between mainland UK and Ireland and allow it to add express overnight groupage shipments to its offering.

The company added that the group’s location and the proximity of Warley Carriers to both the M5 and M6 motorways gives it two strong, central locations on both sides of the Irish Sea.

TST Group, which is also a family-owned firm, provides endto-end supply chain management, including haulage, logistics and warehousing, catering for the food, FMCG and beverage sectors.

Optimism as driver shortage eases

Logistics employers are starting to see the green shoots of recovery, according to a new report from Logistics UK.

Its ‘Skills Report 2021’ reveals that “significant steps” have been taken to help address the recruitment crisis, with government and industry working together to increase capacity to test new drivers, provide new training schemes and commit to improving HGV driver facilities on the road network.

The report also noted a “significant” rise in HGV driver pay rates. It states: “Various sources suggest driver pay increases ranged from 7.8% in Q2 2021 compared with Q2 2019 to 18.3% in the nine months to Q3 2021, with some classes of HGV drivers averaging 28.8% increases in advertised salaries.

“However, to sustain salary increases of this level, more value needs to be placed in the service that logistics provides to the economy, and logistics must be paid for the work that it does. As costs to the sector rise, the pressure on margins will increase.”

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