Food distributor is ‘at risk of collapse’
DERBYSHIRE SUPPLIER TO NATIONAL SUPERMARKETS SAID TO BE ON BRINK OF ADMINISTRATION, WITH 1,000 JOBS THREATENED
A DERBYSHIRE food distribution business that employs 1,000 people could go into administration, it has been reported.
Alfreton-based EVCL Chill, which transports chilled foods to national supermarkets including Asda and Sainsbury’s, could be forced to stop trading.
The business, which is part of the larger logistics company EV Cargo, has been in talks with customers about contingency plans to keep supply chains flowing.
It is hoped that these talks could result in job losses being avoided by the company, which was only brought out of a previous administration last year by EV Cargo.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is being lined up as an administrator for the company, which was previously known as NFT Distribution.
It has been suggested the company is struggling due to ongoing issues with driver shortages, as well as supply chain costs, but the exact details behind the predicament are unclear.
Its parent company, EV Cargo, which is itself owned by Emergevest, is not in financial difficulty.
EV Cargo and PwC both declined to comment when contacted about the reports. It comes as supermarkets and suppliers try to grapple with issues that could lead to shortages of products in shops.
This includes a lack of HGV drivers and a nationwide shortage of carbon dioxide, which is used in the production and food packaging.
Iceland managing director Richard Walker has said food shortages could happen in just a few weeks. Mr Walker said: “This is no longer about whether or not Christmas will be OK, it’s about keeping the wheels turning and the lights on so we can actually get to Christmas. This could become a problem over the coming days and weeks, so this is not an issue that’s months away.”
The major issue supermarkets face is that the country does not have enough skilled HGV drivers to staff delivery lorries.
The driver shortage is said to be due to a mixture of the Covid pandemic and Brexit, but mostly the latter. The lack of workers has been impacting food businesses up and down the country, with many forced to take items off the menu in recent months.