Freight company used by many mobility businesses in the UK enters into administration
Tuffnells, the parcel delivery firm which handles shipping for many mobility manufacturers in the UK has entered administration.
The Sheffield-based business which specialised in distributing mixed freight and handling items of irregular dimension and weight and operated under the Big Green Parcel Machine brand has appointed joint administrators at Interpath Advisory after failing to secure new funding.
The administration had been expected. Employees were reportedly told to go home last Friday as the company prepared to enter administration. The majority of Tuffnells’ 2,200 employees, working across its 33 UK depots, will be made redundant, Interpath said, with just 128 staff being retained.
All its transport hubs and depots have been closed “until further notice” with Interpath saying there is “no prospect of them returning in the immediate term”.
Tuffnells had been under financial pressure after being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The administrators cited a highly competitive nature in the UK parcel delivery market, coupled with “significant inflation” across the company’s fixed cost base in recent times, causing intense pressure on cashflow.
Rick Harrison, managing director at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, commented that the news will be particularly devastating for Tuffnells’ 2,200 dedicated employees. He said: “Regrettably, with deliveries suspended and with no prospect of them resuming in the immediate term, we have had to make the majority of staff redundant. Our utmost priority will be to provide all those impacted with every support they need in making claims to the Redundancy Payments Office and minimising disruption to customers.”
