After the loss of a major contract and of key staff, a haulage firm based in West Lothian has plunged into administration. Sixty-six workers at Corporate Road Solutions 24:7 Limited have been made redundant, with four workers kept on to assist the administrators.

Joint administrators Blair Nimmo and Alistair McAlinden, of KPMG LLP, said the company had suffered from “increasingly challenging market conditions and cost pressures”.

Over 2019, the company’s financial difficulties were exacerbated by the departure of key staff to a competitor together with the loss of a major customer.

“Haulage remains a challenging sector and, despite the tireless efforts of the director, unfortunately, Corporate Road Solutions 24:7 Limited has now entered into administration. It has not proved possible to continue trading in light of significant liabilities and cashflow difficulties,” said Mr Nimmo, KPMG’s UK head of restructuring.

“This has, in turn, resulted in the redundancies which have been announced and the closure of operations. Our attention is focused on supporting the impacted customers and employees. We will be working with all affected employees and the relevant government agencies, including the PACE team at Skills Development Scotland, to ensure a full range of support is available. Impacted customers and parties with an interest in the business and/or assets should contact the joint administrators as soon as possible,” Mr Nimmo added.

The company, based at Redmill Industrial Estate in Bathgate, was established in October 2005 operating as a road haulage contractor and freight forwarder. Latterly employing 70 staff together with a number of agency and self-employed drivers, the firm specialised in transporting goods for large supermarkets together with smaller Scottish businesses, primarily across the UK.