Workers redundant as firm’s assets sold

DOZENS of workers have been made redundant at a Nottinghamshire firm which had worked with Amazon and ebay before its liquidation.

The Salegroup Limited, which was based at West Retford Hall in Retford, was put into liquidation on February 7, after 15 years in business.

The company had operated Despatch Bay, a parcel broker that managed orders and deliveries, working with sites like Amazon and ebay and couriers like Royal Mail and DHL to arrange deliveries for businesses.

But shortly after Covid the firm was battered by rising inflation, with online sales reducing while transport costs climbed.

Liquidators Begbies Traynor explained a “high-profile business” had tried to purchase the Despatch Bay platform, but despite drawn-out discussions the potential buyer pulled out of a deal. Last year a bid to turn the company’s fortunes around by pumping money into new products failed, despite personal investment from its director, who called in liquidators after becoming unable to pay trading costs and debts.

All of The Salegroup’s employees were made redundant before the company entered liquidation. According to the firm’s most recent Companies House accounts for 2022 it had around 40 members of staff.

Gareth Rusling and Philip Nunney, who have been appointed as joint liquidators of the company, will now sell off its assets to repay creditors, including Despatch Bay. The liquidators are also assisting the company’s former employees with their claims and liaising with the Redundancy Payments Service.

The Salegroup was fined £40,000 in 2019 by regulators after admitting it had an illegal anticompetitive agreement with the Royal Mail Group. It had colluded with Royal Mail’s Parcelforce division to make sure that neither company would offer delivery services to each other’s business customers.