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25.11.19
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A third party enters the ring to rescue failing Eddie Stobart Logistics
Ex-Stobart boss in £75m rival rescue bid By Tim Wallace and Carol Millett
Safety campaign targets HGV drivers Midlands Expressway, which operates the M6 Toll, has joined forces with police to target HGV drivers in a bid to improve their driving skills. The safety campaign focuses on the five most common offences on UK roads, which are tailgating, using a mobile phone or tablet while driving, stopping or reversing on a motorway, parking on the hard shoulder and not using mirrors correctly. The programme is supported by literature and a video to help raise HGV driver awareness. Sion Hathaway, motorway inspector at Central Motorway Police Group, said: “We have cameras and patrols as well as marked and unmarked police vehicles across the country and so we see a number of very avoidable incidents and accidents on UK motorways every day.”
A three-way battle has broken out for troubled 3PL Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL) with former group CEO Andrew Tinker the latest to throw his hat in the ring. Tinkler, who headed up the business until 2014, is putting together a £50m rescue package, with an additional £25m being raised by shareholders. He is also lining up heavyweight support for his offer and is reported to have been in discussions with major fund managers M&G and Ruffer. His plan will allow ESL to continue trading over the busy Christmas period and is aimed at preserving value for shareholders still reeling from news that the company is expecting losses of at least £12m when its delayed halfyear results are finally published. ESL has also revealed that yearend net debt is expected to be approximately £200m, which the board said was “unsustainable”. Tinkler is confident he can work with the Stobart board despite previous bitter clashes, which ended in court. “We put that stuff behind us,” he said, adding that the new chairman David Shearer “respects what I am trying to achieve and supports my solution”. Tinkler’s bid came only a week after ESL conditionally agreed a £55m deal with private equity firm DBAY Advisors which would see it take a 51% stake in the company. The funds would be raised through a high interest loan. If the deal succeeds, William Stobart – the fourth child of
founder Eddie Stobart – will be brought in to help stabilise the company. Other board members lined up by DBAY include Mike Branigan, former CEO of Transport Development Group (TDG), Geoffrey Bicknell, former TDG chief financial officer and Saki Riffner, former Eddie Stobart chairman and DBAY chief investment officer. Meanwhile, Wincanton is currently carrying out due diligence on ESL after revealing its interest in a merger in September. It has until 27 November to make a bid or withdraw. Wincanton has urged ESL shareholders not to consider DBAY’s bid until auditor PWC’s review of ESL’s finances are revealed. Wincanton CEO James Wroath claims there is an “industrial logic” to a deal between the two companies, particularly on the transport side where ESL has a shared user network. “Our transport business is much more of a dedicated open book
model where we manage assets on behalf of our customers,” he explained, “so putting the two things together at the right price and with the correct due diligence done is absolutely of interest to us. That is why we are looking at it and it would still be interesting to us even if the share price had not been suspended.”
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