Sitra Group was launched in 1962. It employs approximately 1,150 people across 11 countries including the UK and operates a fleet of 700 owned trucks and over 2,000 trailers and containers, including liquid and powder food tankers.

The group, which last year reported a turnover of €165m, is largely owned by the Saelens family, with investment company Creafund holding the balance of shares since 2021.

The purchase of Abbey Logistics Group, which boasts an annual turnover of £75m, sees Sitra Group add nearly 600 staff and a fleet of 325 trucks and 550 trailers to its operations. Sitra Group has pledged that Abbey will continue to operate under its own name and livery. An Abbey Logistics spokesperson told MT that the company has no plans to make any staff redundant or to close any depots.

Abbey has been majority owned by private equity firm NorthEdge Capital since 2016, following a management buyout (MBO), led by Steve Granite, former chief executive and current chairman, who is to take on an advisory role at the company, following the acquisition.

Granite said: "Since our MBO we have successfully transformed Abbey from a £45m turnover family business to a £75m market leader and refocused the business on its core strengths as a specialist tanker operator in the UK.

"We are proud of how the business has grown, not just in revenue but in market share and maturity, to become the UK’s leading food tanker operator.

"With the unwavering support of NorthEdge and a great working relationship between the board and the investors, the business is now in great shape, and I am delighted to see it end up in the ownership of another family-owned business in Sitra Group who will undoubtedly develop the business and it’s people even further."

He added: "I would also like to say a huge thank you and well done to the employees of Abbey who have worked tirelessly to make Abbey the market leader it is today and I’m confident that being part of the Sitra Group will have a positive impact on our people and loyal customers.”

David Patten, Abbey Logistics Group MD, also welcomed the deal. He said: “I have worked with Sitra as a supplier during my time as a customer in Europe and I hold the company and its people in high regard.

"It is an exciting time in Abbey’s history to once again be part of a family-owned business and I am over the moon to be joining the Sitra team. This is great news for our employees and customers.”

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Jon Pickering, Northedge partner and chief investment officer, said: “We are proud to see Abbey joining forces with Sitra, another market-leading business with a strong commercial and cultural fit.

"Throughout our partnership, management have worked tirelessly to build a high-quality leadership team, retain and grow a blue-chip customer base, continuously improve operational efficiencies and develop a market-leading approach to talent attraction and retention to support scale.

"Abbey is now well positioned for future growth as part of Sitra, continuing to deliver world-class service to its customers, and we wish the whole team the best of luck in their next chapter.”

David Saelens, Sitra Group chief executive, said: “Sitra Group is delighted to announce the acquisition of Abbey Logistics Group. It is a milestone in Sitra’s history to acquire a renowned, well-established company like Abbey.

"Together with our partner Creafund we have been working almost a year on this deal and to now welcome the whole Abbey family to the Sitra group feels like the cherry on the cake.

"It was a great pleasure to work closely with Steve, Dave and Matthew who are truly professionals as well as the other members of the Abbey management. We have not only aquired a great company but we also welcome some of the best individuals in our industry.

"We are very much looking forward to welcoming and introducing every Abbey member in our organisation. Abbey will continue to operate under its own name and colours and Sitra is not intending to change whatsoever to the well-working organisation that Abbey is today.

"Since Creafund’s entry in Sitra Group, the size of the company has more than doubled and we are getting close to €300m turnover with over 2,000 employees, on course to our ambition which is to reach the €500 million milestone by 2026. Please allow me to thank everybody who was involved in making this deal happen “

Kenneth Depuydt, partner of Creafund added “We are extremely pleased to accelerate the strategic growth plan of Sitra by adding Abbey to our ambitious Group. We truly value the professionalism, the entrepreneurship, the reputation and all stakeholders, including all employees of Abbey tremendously.

"We hence warmly welcome Abbey as part of our Group and look forward to further consolidating the food logistics market together."

Abbey was advised by KPMG and DWF and Sitra was advised by EY.

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Latest financial results, for the year ending 31 December 2022, showed that chilled food supply chain business Fowler Welch increased turnover by 23% during the period to £201m, from £163m in 2021.

Pre-tax profit increased from £4.6m to £12.4m, although the business pointed out that almost £2.7m of this was an exceptional profit from the disposal of joint venture Integrated Services Solutions.

In February 2022, Fowler Welch acquired Robert Burns Logistics, in order to boost its presence in the fresh logistics market.

It said this purchase had allowed it to increase its scale and expertise in the sector, which had accelerated growth.

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Meanwhile, fellow Culina subsidiary Great Bear Distribution saw revenues and profits soar in 2022; turnover increased at the UK ambient 3PL by 16.4% to £399m and pre-tax profit more than doubled to £42m, compared to £17.7m in 2021.

In late 2022, the decision was taken to transfer the warehousing activity of group undertaking Eddie Stobart over to Great Bear and the firm said this had allowed it to expand its storage portfolio, which would help with further growth.

“The company is well funded and financially robust, so the directors are confident the company is well placed to meet the challenges of the ongoing economic climate and market conditions,” it said.

Culina Group itself reported a 37.8% increase in pre-tax profit, to £5.7m in 2022. Turnover increased by 43% to £88.3m, which it attributed mainly to increased recharges following the acquisition of Stobart umbrella company Greenwhitestar Acquisitions in July 2021.

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Its latest annual results for the year to 31 May 2023 show a 17.1% fall in turnover to £45.8m (2022: £55.3m) while pre-tax profit came in at £4.5m, down from £5m in the previous period.

Southampton-based Meachers Global Logistics specialises in national and international freight and transport logistics services, including freight forwarding, supply chain management, UK warehousing, distribution, training, logistics transport and contract management. It has operating licences for 154 trucks and 204 trailers and employs around 200 staff.

Despite the decline in turnover and profit the family firm remained positive. In its review of the business the group said: “Overall the directors consider the group has performed well over the last 12 months.

"However, as reported last year, in the prior year results we had undertaken a considerable activity that was associated entirely with the pandemic and as expected there was minimal activity on this account in the current financial year. Excluding this contract from the prior year, turnover from the remaining activity increased by £4m.”

The group revealed that reinvestments in the business has seen the group's total net worth rising by 12.6% from £12.1m to £13.7m. Over £1.9m was invested in new equipment in the year with Meachers committed to spending a further £2.1m in the current financial year on new vehicles.

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The review added that the group is confident about the future and currently looking at growing the company both organically and through acquisition “if suitable opportunities arise.”

However, Meachers also sounded a note of caution, pointing to the current economic climate, and the UK’s consistently low growth and productivity projections, which it said poses challenges to the group and could impact on future profitability.

Another concern, according to the business review, is upward price pressure on operating costs in a number of areas of the group’s business.

It stated: “We are continuing to see the rising costs of commercial rents locally and we'll begin to see the significant impact on the warehouse division in particular, of the full revaluation of business rates that was implemented from April 2023.

“Energy costs remain high and the capital cost of replacement equipment which has soared in the last 12 months looks set to continue.”

It said the compoany was still facing problems with driver shortages, which had been alleviated in the short term by raising drivers' wages and by the impact of the economic slowdown, adding that it remained to be seen how successful its training and recruitment schemes, as well as government policies designed to tackle the shortages, will be this year.

The company declined to comment further on its annual results.

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Revenues also slipped by £2.3m to £132m from almost £134m the year before.

However, Pallet-Track said its hub revenues grew by 3% during the period, primarily due to an increase in hub transshipment fees, and network delivery revenue increased by 7%.

In a review of its business, the pallet network said: “Economic uncertainty impacted activity in the year with results below that expected.

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“The board is confident in its expectations for the coming year and will continue to invest in the development of the company.”

It added: “Post Covid recovery in 2021 increased activity beyond that expected and this continued into early 2022. However, the energy crisis, cost of living increase and conflict in Eastern Europe suppressed activity for the remainder of the year.”

Last month, Pallet-Track replaced chief executive Caroline Green with Stuart Godman, who previously held senior roles at DX Group, Absolutely, Connect Group and Target Express.

The network did not respond as we went to press.

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The demonstrator programme will involve a number of major fleet operators, including Menzies Distribution, Eddie Stobart, and Royal Mail, with manufacturers DAF, Volvo, Renault Trucks, and Scania providing the battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell-powered demonstrator trucks.

Innovate UK will lead the programme, which consists of four projects. These include Project Electric Freightway, led by Gridserve, which will demonstrate up to 140 DAF and Volvo battery electric trucks, along with up to 220 chargers, 70% of which will be open-access.

Another participant is Project Zero Emission North (ZEN) Freight, which will demonstrate up to 70 battery electric and 30 hydrogen fuel HGVs. Operators participating in the scheme include Eddie Stobart and Royal Mail.

Meanwhile Voltempo's eFREIGHT 2030 project is partnering with Renault Trucks, Scania and DAF to demonstrate up to 100 battery electric HGVs. Marks and Spencer and Menzies Distribution are some of the operators confirmed to be participating.

The fourth project, Hydrogen Aggregated Logistics (HyHAUL), is being led by Protium. It will deploy around 30 hydrogen fuel cell HGVs onto the M4. Through DfT funding, the HGV fleet will be serviced by one fixed hydrogen refuelling station (HRS) and mobile refuelling in two other locations.

The project has longer-term ambitions to implement two additional permanent hydrogen refuelling stations in Magor and Bridgend, alongside additional hydrogen conversion projects along the M4.

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The funding announcement comes during Freight Week, a government-led initiative which has seen ministers visiting a number of freight stakeholders this week, to understand how the sector can transition to net zero, drive innovation, and create new jobs.

Roads minister Richard Holden visited Voltempo in Birmingham this week. Its eFREIGHT 2030 project aims to create up to 200 new jobs by 2030. 

Michael Boxwell, eFREIGHT 2030 project director, said: “By early 2026, we will have eleven fleets deploying electric HGVs, and a nationwide HGV charging network using British built chargers. Each charge hub will provide at least six charge bays and 1,000kW charging.

"This demonstration programme combined with world-class infrastructure will give fleet operators confidence they can deploy electric HGVs at scale.”

Richard Smith, RHA MD, applauded the initative. He said: “We strongly welcome today’s announcement from the government on the zero emission HGV and infrastructure demonstrator programme.

“The £200m commitment Ministers are putting into this demonstrator significantly helps to de-risk the transition to net zero.

"The real-world demonstrators will answer many of the practical questions operators have and, in turn, give our members the confidence to invest in the zero emission lorries needed to drive down carbon emissions from our sector.”

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The move sees 850 jobs under threat, of which 600 are in the UK, where the group recently opened a service hub in North London.

Volta is set to appoint insolvency practitioners from Alvarez & Marsal to deal with the administration of its English business.

In an announcement released today (17 October) Volta Trucks said: "The recent news that our battery supplier (Proterra) has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, has had a significant impact on our manufacturing plans, reducing the volume of vehicles that we had forecast to produce.

"The uncertainty with our battery supplier also negatively affected our ability to raise sufficient capital in an already challenging capital-raising environment for electric vehicle players."

The company added: "With deep and sincere regret, the Board has therefore taken the difficult decision to take steps to file for bankruptcy proceedings in Sweden.

"The main trading entity of the group, Volta Trucks Limited, will shortly file for administration in England, with insolvency practitioners from Alvarez & Marsal anticipated to take office. Other group entities will also shortly file for insolvency proceedings in the relevant jurisdictions."

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The electric truck manufacturer burst on the truck manufacturing scene in 2019 and by January this year was boasting its first 300 customer orders, worth an estimated £75m, for the production and 2023 delivery of its 16-tonne all-electric Volta Truck.

The group had also attracted major industry players to its ranks, including Claes Nilsson, former Volvo Trucks president and Dr Karl Viktor Schaller, former MAN chief technology officer.

It had also convinced major logistics firms to trial its trucks, including DPD and DSV, whilst vehicle hire giant Petit Forestier recently signed a rental and leasing deal for refrigerated versions of the 16-tonne and 18-tonne Volta Zero in the UK and Europe.

The group acknowledged Volta's rapid rise in its statement today, saying: "Volta Trucks accomplished a great deal from a standing start in 2019, revolutionising commercial vehicle operations for a sustainable future.

"We created the world’s first purpose built 16-tonne all-electric truck, including a unique cab and chassis design, that would have contributed to decarbonising the environment and enhanced the health and safety and air quality of urban centres.

"Piloting in five countries in Europe, we received fantastic feedback, which led to a strong pipeline of highly reputed customers who wanted to introduce our Volta Zero Trucks into their fleets."

It added: "The board has not taken this course easily or lightly and is fully aware of the significant impact this will have on the organisation’s dedicated workforce, as well as customers and partners.

"We would like to sincerely thank the Volta Trucks team and are incredibly proud of their pioneering work to deliver such an innovative zero emission commercial vehicle."

The post Volta Trucks files for bankruptcy after battery supplier goes bust appeared first on Motor Transport.

The family firm, which is based in North Killingholme, has posted a notice to appoint administrators. The applicant behind the move is Bibby Financial Services, which holds a charge over the company.

A spokesman for Mark Stewart told MT that meetings are ongoing and the company would provide more information on the appointment of an administrator later this week.

Mark Stewart Limited, which trades as Mark Stewart International Transport, was founded in 2009 and employs around 25 staff. It has operating licences for 53 trucks and 23 trailers.

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The company specialises in handling trailer and container movements to and from the Humber ports of Killingholme and Immingham and offers transportation and haulage services across the UK, mainland Europe and Scandinavia, as well as storage and warehousing services.

In its latest annual results to 31 October 2022, the company reported a profit of just over £590,000.

In March this year Olanrewaju Lawal, an investment professional, who is a director of Norland Equity Partners, became the largest shareholder in Mark Stewart Limited with a stake of over 75% in the company. At the same time Robert Van Den Berg joined the board as a part time member.

At the time of his appointment Van Den Berg, a consultant with a wide portfolio of specialisms, including data sciences, vaccines innovation, talent development and driving change, said on his Linked In account: "I am proud to be board member of Mark Stewart Ltd and keen to do my part to take the company to the next level."

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These latest reopenings take the total number of depots brought back into operation to date to 12, with all 10 depots in this latest tranche serving the group’s freight division, focusing on its irregular dimension and weight (IDW) delivery services.

Four of the 10 sites see the freight division expand into new locations, in Andover, Haydock, Merseyside, Leighton Buzzard and Lockerbie.

The remaining six new depots have been opened to replace existing freight locations and are in Carnforth in Lancashire; Crawley; Dewsbury and Leeds; Northampton and Sheffield in South Yorkshire (pictured).

DX said all the new depots were acquired for their enhanced, purpose-built cross-dock facilities and transport links.

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The latest openings have accelerated DX’s programme to expand and develop its depot network, and
have significantly increased the group’s freight capacity and capabilities.

DX has added over 700 former Tuffnells customers to date, and over 350 former Tuffnells employees to its roster, and estimates its market share in the IDW market has grown from 15% to around 25%.

Paul Ibbetson, DX chief executive officer, said: "We have now reopened 12 of the 15 former Tuffnells depots that we took on from the administrator of Tuffnells in late June. These openings substantially increase our freight capability across the country, from the South of England, through the Midlands, Yorkshire, and into Scotland.

"They will provide the additional capacity we need to handle the volume growth that we are experiencing. They will also support our drive for further efficiencies, environmental and customer service benefits.

“Developing the depot network is a key component in delivering our continued growth plans, and
we expect to be able to report on further openings over the coming months.”

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Noel Willcox, MD at Elevation Access, took Transport for London (TfL) to an appeal tribunal, which found that the LEZ signs provided no information about the charging regime and ruled in his favour.

His truck had racked up thousands of pounds in penalties after driving into the LEZ.

Now he wants to continue his fight with a legal challenge against the ULEZ: “I am convinced that the LEZ and ULEZ signs are wrong,” Willcox said.

“And I’m also convinced that motorists are being charged unlawfully. This isn’t just about getting his or others’ money back. It’s about decency, values, and the sort of world we want to live in.”
Howard Cox, FairFuelUK founder and Reform UK’s London mayoral candidate, said the TfL schemes were breaking the law and claimed London mayor Sadiq Khan was acting “irresponsibly”.

He said: “They were beaten in a law court by this brave small businessman who showed unequivocally all LEZ road signage is indeed illegal.

“Yet Khan’s brainwashed and scaremongering transport team believe they are above the law.”

A spokeswoman for TfL said the tribunal adjudicator ruled against TfL because it had not submitted evidence in time.

TfL also said no fines in the LEZ case had been paid by Willcox, therefore no refunds had been issued to the businessman.

“The LEZ signs were deemed lawful by the DfT in 2008,” said the TfL spokeswoman.

“Due to a processing error the correct evidence was not supplied to the adjudicator in time in this case.”

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Announcing the sale TVS Supply Chain Solutions, which is another Indian powerhouse, said Circle Express had “very little synergy” with its core activities.

The acquisition comes as Circle Express continues to struggle to fight its way out of the red. Its most recent annual results to 31 March 2022 revealed its pre-tax losses had deepened to -£4m (2021: -£1.7m), despite revenues rising to £24.2m (2021: £22.1m).

Circle Express, which was bought by Rico Logistics in 2016, has its headquarters in West Drayton. It offers UK airfreight forwarding services, employs around 200 staff and operates around 300 vehicles from eight depots located near UK airports.

Circle’s sale to Winever Industrial Enterprises sees Sanj Sharma, founder of Rico Logistics, continue at the helm of Circle Express as managing director, while Mike Prosser, group IT and commercial director at Rico Logistics, takes on the role of chief financial officer.

A letter, written by Sharma, was sent to Circle Express employees last week, informing them of the sale. In the letter, seen by MT, Sharma hailed Circle's sale to Winever Industrial Enterprises as “great news”.

He said parent company TVS Supply Chain Services “has over the years struggled to find the right strategic fit for Circle Express in its Logistics portfolio.”

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Sharma added that Winever Industrial Enterprises “is amongst the top three warehousing and logistics parks companies in India”, as well as a major investor in India's hydro power, ports and pharma sectors.

He told employees that TVS Supply Chain Services will be providing support and services to Circle Express during the transition process, adding: "The above new ownership is great news and should be a comfort to all the employees and people who have worked for and with Circle.

“As you will no doubt be aware the business has recently faced some challenging times and we will now work incredibly hard to turn the business into a market leader again.”

In a regulatory filing TVS Supply Chain Solutions said the sale was part of a wider move to focus on its core business.

TVS Supply Chain Solutions managing director Ravi Viswanathan said: “The sale of Circle Express is an important step as it found very little synergy with the core operations and represents an important step in our efforts to enhance our financial performance and sharpen our competitive edge.”

He added: ““We are confident that this sale will allow us to allocate resources more effectively and focus on driving sustainable growth and profitability, thereby increasing shareholder value.”

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