Davis-Wright Haulage Ltd entered liquidation on 2 September, with Christopher Purkiss of Moore Kingston Smith & Partners appointed as liquidator. The company specialised in construction logistics, including muck-away work, aggregates, recycled materials, concrete delivery and vehicle hire.
Its collapse follows a period of relatively rapid expansion. Traffic Commissioner records show that the company’s standard national operator’s licence, OF2041586, was increased to 10 vehicles in early 2024 and then to 12 vehicles in September that year.
The licence covered operating centres in Lincolnshire, including sites near Boston and Bourne, while an earlier notice also listed an operating centre at Little Ponton Quarry near Grantham. It is not yet clear how many vehicles the company was actually operating immediately before liquidation.
Balance-sheet cushion shrank sharply
Davis-Wright’s most recent publicly available accounts, covering the year to 31 March 2024, already showed signs of a tightening financial position. The company reported net assets of £41,139, down from £152,012 a year earlier. At the same time, amounts owed to the business by customers had risen to around £1.18 million, while trade creditors stood at approximately £863,000. Bank borrowings and overdrafts were around £446,000.
The company’s workforce also doubled during the year, rising from five employees to 10. Its cash balance at the reporting date stood at £237,443. The accounts therefore show a business that was increasing its workforce and vehicle authorisation while its net asset position was falling significantly.
Davis-Wright had previously used invoice-finance and business-finance arrangements, including facilities involving Skipton Business Finance and Nucleus Cash Flow Finance. Those charges were later satisfied.
However, a separate charge granted to Barclays Security Trustee Limited in August 2024 remained outstanding when the company entered liquidation. Companies House records show that the security included fixed and floating charges over the company’s assets and undertaking.
Filing deadlines missed before liquidation
Further warning signs appeared during 2026. Davis-Wright changed its accounting reference date, extending its next accounting period to 30 September 2025. Those accounts were due for filing by the end of June 2026 but had not been submitted before the liquidation.
Its next confirmation statement had also fallen due. On 1 September, Companies House published a first Gazette notice for compulsory strike-off against the company. The following day, Davis-Wright entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation.
The reason for the strike-off action is not stated in the public filing history, although the company had outstanding filing obligations at the time. A creditors’ notice published in August had already scheduled a decision procedure for 2 September. That notice named Dylan Audley Quail of Business Guardian in connection with the proposed liquidation, but creditors ultimately appointed Christopher Purkiss of Moore Kingston Smith & Partners instead.
Full creditor exposure not yet public
The company’s statement of affairs has not yet appeared in the public Companies House record, meaning the total scale of the shortfall remains unknown. That document should eventually provide a clearer picture of the amounts owed to HMRC, trade creditors and finance providers, the value of remaining assets and any expected return to unsecured creditors.
Davis-Wright’s failure comes amid a wider run of insolvencies affecting UK road transport operators in recent months, as hauliers continue to face pressure from fuel, labour, finance and operating costs.
