Poole Bay Warehousing and Three Legged Transport, which shared premises in Wimborne and employed 41 people, both entered administration in mid-September. Leonard Curtis, the appointed administrator, said the companies ceased trading immediately after its appointment and that no viable buyer emerged.
According to the administrator’s report, the firms had been under mounting strain for several years. The post-Brexit driver shortage was followed by the pandemic, which caused severe operational disruption and a sharp rise in driver wages after many Eastern European drivers left the UK. Further cost pressures — fuel, electricity, insurance, clean air zone charges and the reinstated HGV levy — continued to erode margins.
Although a new chief executive was appointed in 2024 and additional sales staff were hired in an effort to rebuild volume, the companies continued to lose ground in what the administrator described as a “fiercely competitive” market. Both operated within the pallet-network model, holding O-licences for 27 vehicles.
Why no buyers stepped in
The Dorset case reflects a wider problem in the UK road transport sector: many distressed hauliers can no longer be rescued through a sale. Insolvency practitioners and financiers point to several structural reasons:
- Thin or negative margins leave buyers facing immediate losses.
- Asset-light fleets and leased premises mean there is often little tangible value to acquire.
- Fragmented, price-driven customer bases in pallet-network territories offer limited commercial upside.
- Late payment has become “normalised”, making working capital requirements difficult for new owners.
- Buyers are increasingly risk-averse, with the sector experiencing prolonged instability.
This combination makes distressed hauliers difficult to integrate and costly to stabilise, even when they still have local brand recognition and established territory coverage.
Part of a wider insolvency trend
The collapse in Dorset adds to a high number of failures across the UK haulage sector. Industry data shows:
- 494 haulage businesses entered insolvency in 2023 — the highest on record.
- Around 469 firms failed in 2024, still far above pre-pandemic levels.
- Smaller regional operators and pallet-network members account for a substantial share of the insolvencies.
While overall UK corporate insolvencies have started to level off, road haulage continues to experience disproportionate financial pressure, driven by high input costs, tight labour markets and chronic price competition.
For customers, increasing failures among small and mid-sized hauliers raise concerns about regional capacity and service continuity, especially in postcode areas where multiple operators have folded. Pallet networks are also under pressure to rapidly reassign territory and protect service levels when members collapse.
With cost volatility expected to continue into 2026, analysts warn that further consolidation and distress in the sector remain likely unless operating conditions improve.
