Kenyon haulage of Blackburn goes bust

A 90-year-old haulage company has gone bust, making more than 100 of its employees redundant with immediate effect.

Kenyon’s Haulage Ltd which is based in Blackburn and has been in operation since 1935 has gone into administration with Krolls taking the lead on the company’s insolvency.

A spokesman for the administrators confirmed 90 of the 97 road haulage and 18 of the 22 warehousing employees have been made redundant.

An employee of the once family-owned firm - which was taken over in 2016 by Graham Darnell who also owns and runs Truswell and Sons and did run Adam Jones and Sons until that went bust in May last year - said around 70 drivers and warehouse staff were called into a meeting on Monday where they were given the bad news.

The employee, who did not wish to be named, but has worked for the haulage firm in Thornley Avenue for around four years said: “We were called in as employees to a meeting on Monday.

“We knew the company had been struggling as they’ve not been able to pay the drivers and suppliers for their fuel and what they need on a day to day basis.

“So we get called in on Monday at 11am and there were about 70 of us altogether, and the administrators and insolvency team were there too.

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“We were told that we were being made redundant from that point on.

“Kenyon’s has been around since 1935, everyone in Blackburn knows Kenyon’s, and then the family sold it on 2016 to Graham Darnell and it’s not been the same since.”

The employee claims that as well as having to pay for their own fuel, drivers had not been paid for the last week’s work, and were not being given remaining holiday pay or time in lieu.

The employee went on: “Some of us knew this was coming as the firm has been having trouble paying some of the drivers. The majority of us have no jobs to go to but some of us, like myself, who knew there was something going on have managed to get other work.

“Some of the drivers have been there 16 years, we feel aggrieved.”

Kenyon’s were contacted for comment but said to go to the administrators for an official statement.

A spokesperson for Kroll’s said: “Michael Lennon and Steven Muncaster of Kroll were appointed as administrators to Kenyon Road Haulage Limited and Kenyon Warehousing Limited yesterday (March 20 2023).

“Due to the financial position of the entities both companies ceased to trade upon the appointment of administrators with 90 of the 97 road haulage and 18 of the 22 warehousing employees being made redundant.

“The remaining staff have been retained by the administrators to assist in the administrators with their duties and wind down operations.”

lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/n … istrators/

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Also on London gazette thegazette.co.uk/notice/4311730
And why oh why did those drivers pay out of their own pocket to fill the motor up

Sad to hear this. I worked for them for a short while after they picked up the firm I was with during the expansion phase that Darnell was undertaking.

Hope those who have found their job vanish get back into work quickly.

blue estate:
why oh why did those drivers pay out of their own pocket to fill the motor up

Wasn’t there someone recently on here that did this?
As it’s a great example of why you shouldn’t do it

peirre:

blue estate:
why oh why did those drivers pay out of their own pocket to fill the motor up

Wasn’t there someone recently on here that did this?
As it’s a great example of why you shouldn’t do it

trucknetuk.com/phpBB/viewto … d+declined
Yep there was , I would be googling local hertz or enterprise and hiring a car , leaving truck where it was

Aye was just reading that in the Lancashire Telegraph. Shame, hope they all get sorted soon enough.
There was a couple comments that said a Leyland firm had agreed to take on some work of theirs but not all staff/drivers, not sure who or how true.

peirre:

blue estate:
why oh why did those drivers pay out of their own pocket to fill the motor up

Wasn’t there someone recently on here that did this?
As it’s a great example of why you shouldn’t do it

This. As soon as you’re being asked to pay for your own fuel you need to be looking for another job. I’d also be handing in my notice precisely because of the risk of not being paid for work. I sure as hell wouldn’t be going back to work the following week if I’d not been paid because of cashflow issues. Once in a blue moon payroll cockups are one thing, I’m sure everyone has had that at least once, but not paying because they’re a short of cash is “see ya later”.

md1987:
Aye was just reading that in the Lancashire Telegraph. Shame, hope they all get sorted soon enough.
There was a couple comments that said a Leyland firm had agreed to take on some work of theirs but not all staff/drivers, not sure who or how true.

That will be Harry Parkinson aka HPH aka Half Price Haulage
Another stain on the underpants of the haulage industry that needs to disappear

Night-and-day:

md1987:
Aye was just reading that in the Lancashire Telegraph. Shame, hope they all get sorted soon enough.
There was a couple comments that said a Leyland firm had agreed to take on some work of theirs but not all staff/drivers, not sure who or how true.

That will be Harry Parkinson aka HPH aka Half Price Haulage
Another stain on the underpants of the haulage industry that needs to disappear

Yeh I thought it would be Parkinsons tbh

blue estate:
Also on London gazette thegazette.co.uk/notice/4311730
And why oh why did those drivers pay out of their own pocket to fill the motor up

They were reimbursed for the diesel cos it was a couple of weeks ago but like others have said. Madness paying for diesel. Just highlights how close they were to not being reimbursed.

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md1987:

Night-and-day:

md1987:
Aye was just reading that in the Lancashire Telegraph. Shame, hope they all get sorted soon enough.
There was a couple comments that said a Leyland firm had agreed to take on some work of theirs but not all staff/drivers, not sure who or how true.

That will be Harry Parkinson aka HPH aka Half Price Haulage
Another stain on the underpants of the haulage industry that needs to disappear

Yeh I thought it would be Parkinsons tbh

That maybe correct because there was about 3 or 4 red otif group trailers parked in their yard off comet rd Leyland when I went past on Thursday afternoon .

mat79:

blue estate:
Also on London gazette thegazette.co.uk/notice/4311730
And why oh why did those drivers pay out of their own pocket to fill the motor up

They were reimbursed for the diesel cos it was a couple of weeks ago but like others have said. Madness paying for diesel. Just highlights how close they were to not being reimbursed.

Sent from my moto g(30) using Tapatalk

I for 1 couldn’t afford to lose £600 and I don’t sail close to the wind with my finances

blue estate:

mat79:

blue estate:
Also on London gazette thegazette.co.uk/notice/4311730
And why oh why did those drivers pay out of their own pocket to fill the motor up

They were reimbursed for the diesel cos it was a couple of weeks ago but like others have said. Madness paying for diesel. Just highlights how close they were to not being reimbursed.

Sent from my moto g(30) using Tapatalk

I for 1 couldn’t afford to lose £600 and I don’t sail close to the wind with my finances

[emoji106]

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Drivers actually AGREEING to pay for their own fuel, and doing so ?
Jeeez even I’m speechless, and I thought that nothing surprised me about drivers anymore.

The ex transport manager is at our place now lol.

Over the years I’ve paid for fuel , ad blue , boots , cleaning stuff & just in the last couple of months I paid £110 for my hgv medical & £37 for the eye sight test part , I didn’t fret / have sleepless nights over whether the company would / wouldn’t go bust , I just filled in a expenses sheet , handed it in & got paid I.e hgv medical £147 a week later in my wages

dozy:
Over the years I’ve paid for fuel , ad blue , boots , cleaning stuff & just in the last couple of months I paid £110 for my hgv medical & £37 for the eye sight test part , I didn’t fret / have sleepless nights over whether the company would / wouldn’t go bust , I just filled in a expenses sheet , handed it in & got paid I.e hgv medical £147 a week later in my wages

Yeah, but that’s because you have paid off the mortgage, have tens of thousands in the bank, two flash cars paid for, and can help your daughter pay her bills.

You only stress yourself to death, maxing your hours, working nights, and being the planners ■■■■■, for “something to do”.

Kenyon haulage ordered to pay 18 workers.

Even says they’re unlikely to receive it.

lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/n … pensation/

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Employees owed salaries are priority creditors, as explained to me by the receiver when an agency who still owed me holiday pay after i packed in with them went down, i contacted him told him was owed so many days @ £■■■ and sure enough it came through, one would hope any outstanding expenses would be covered.

Looking grim our there, must be a nightmare for small hauliers and owner drivers who might be owed by these companies.
What would happen with an OD contracted to a company which went bust if the OD got his fuel from the defunct outfit as part of the deal, would he still have to pay for the fuel despite receiving maybe only pence in the pound when things are settled?

Employees owed money should be ok if a company is liquidated. Even if a company is insolvent then government help is at hand to claim some money back from government with claims for wages owed.

Regarding other creditors, if there is zero money to be had then even the likes of the banks and HMRC are unable to get blood out of a stone.