Llangollen Railway

You can access the report from https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02716476/filing-history

Patrick

 

It is also a mecca for coach parties some of which do/did make the train ride part of their itinerary. Shortage of parking has always been an issue in Llan. and the station is a bit of a walk from the town car parks but, hopefully, the re-opening to Corwen should go some way to solving those problems. For those not familiar with Corwen there is a large, reasonably priced, car park adjacent to the new station and there is limited free parking at Carrog for those who want a shorter journey. I hope to visit in summer when our restrictions are lifted and will certainly park in Corwen (in preference to Llan) and take the train to Llangollen - assuming, of course, that the re-opening has taken place.
Ray.

 

A similar distance from the conurbations of Birmingham and the Black Country as well.

 

I would go so far as to say Llangollen is most definitely a tourist hotspot - just not so if you like beach holidays!
I have in the past been involved in taking groups of under-aged children on corporate-funded activity holidays and yes, we chose Llangollen for the wealth of outdoor activities available, the railway being just one.

 

My quick read of the administrators' report from https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02716476/filing-history

Total debts were circa £940k
Estimated dividend to the £802k of unsecured creditors is shown as a provisional 1.2 pence in the £, including:

Employees £152k (presumably the Insolvency Service steps in to pay)

ex-directors
H Shipton £120k
P Evans £25k
J Bearne £15k

Llangollen Trust £90k
Scottish RPS £120k contract dispute
Patriot Group £100k contract dispute
4709 Group £9k
3814 Group £50k for down payment invoiced but work not carried out
5199 Group £29k steaming fees
80072 Group £41k steaming fees

The value of plant equipment and rolling stock is included for £261k but sold for a good deal more at auction. Presumably there's hope of a bit more, but sadly not a great deal.

Patrick

 

No wonder Peter Robinson was so annoyed about having to move 3814 again, plus now it seems the Betton Grange lot don't want to hire 3814's tender.

 

It's not just distance that's key, it's journey time as well. A quick Google Maps suggests a journey time from Leeds to Scarborough or Leeds to Whitby of about 1 hr 40 (give or take a few minutes). Liverpool to Llangollen is just over an hour, Manchester to Llangollen 1 hr 20, Birmingham to Llangollen at time of checking 1 hour 50 (but that was due to traffic on the M6). Given that me and my family growing up in Nottingham would regularly drive an hour and a half into the Peak District, one can imagine the potential of people from those cities making that journey for a day trip to Llangollen. Even if it's just to do a walk and grab some coffee at a station while a train goes by, that's still money in the pot. It's just a case of encouraging people that it's a worthwhile destination for a day trip. That may well be a wider issue for the region it's in, not uniquely the railway

 

Which if I understand right about the links between personalities, may add salt to the wound.

 

That's my point - you can't QC until you know what standard of Q you are C-ing...

From a very brief skim of the report, 1.11 stands out "however, historically the engineering side of the business has been profitable and supported the Company's railway activities"

Anyone who is assuming their operation is safe from this sort of fate because it always has been, should note it well.

 

Yes, a bit of a crossover between directors of 6880 and the PLC (until September 2020). Also same people involved with 5199, so they didn't pay for the use of their own loco.

 

Just look at names of certain directors of 6880 and where they what posteriors they held somewhere else.

The think I don’t understand though is why did 3814’s owner pay the final invoice without inspecting the work carried out. It’s very obvious work wasn’t finished.

 

Announcement on EOR Facebook page:

The Epping Ongar Railway has received an additional vehicle to enhance its coaching stock fleet.

Mark 1 open coach, 4947, built in 1961, has arrived from the Llangollen Railway following an auction of assets by their administrators. Following an exam the coach is expected to enter service shortly. It will provide extra capacity for some of our most popular events.

The Llangollen Railway Trust is seeking to reopen the Llangollen Railway later this year and the EOR wishes them well in their efforts.

 

In the pharmaceutical industry, which is my background, you formally audit the supplier before placing a contract, although I admit that this does presuppose that one knows what one is talking about!

 

The assets made about 250k more than anticipated - that's about 31p/£ more to return to the unsecured creditors.

Edit: Am I correct in thinking that employees are preferential over the other unsecured creditors? If so, presumably they now get paid out in full without a sub from the insolvency service, and everyone else is still looking at near zero returned.

 

I believe the loco is now owned by the Robinson family, checking my copies of the NYMR Moorsline information on the loco is being supplied by Pauline Robinson. Happy to be corrected if this information is wrong.

 

Parking in Llangollen certainly puts me off stopping there. Carrog is where I stop (used to stop). They have (had?) a lovely tea room and there are (were) still trains to watch and catch.

 

Pages 46/47 say:

Preferential creditor claims - employees £47,884 Note 12 - holiday pay and arrears of wages
Unsecured : Employees PILON (pay in lieu of notice) / Redundancy Pay £151,499

See also
2.43 p. 14 treatment of employees and changes to secured status from 1.12.20
4.15 & 4.16 p. 18 (secured capped at £800 per employee)

Accountants on here will be able to comment knowledgeably

Patrick

 

The Administrator's report indicates that they anticipate that full repayment will be made to secured creditors (mainly NatWest Bank) and preferential creditors (mainly the former employees). And as you indicate, in the light of higher than expected auction sale prices, the remaining (unsecured) creditors may get a bit more than had been estimated.

A large portion of the unsecured liabilities are the claims for compensation for defective engineering work, principally from the Patriot and Morayshire projects. If I understand the report correctly, the Administrators have acknowledged these claims but not agreed final amounts.

 

It has always been owned by the Robinson family, who purchased it from Barry.