Eddie Stobart Logistics

Eddie Stobart Logistics Ltd
Private limited company
Industry Integrated Transport Logistics
Founded circa 1940s
(as Eddie Stobart)
23 November 1970
(as Eddie Stobart Ltd.)
Founder Eddie Stobart
Headquarters Warrington, Cheshire, England
Area served
 Belgium, Ireland, United Kingdom
Key people
 William Stobart
(Chief Executive Officer)
Revenue Increase £500.4 million (2011)[1]
Increase £37.5 million (2011)[1]
Increase £23.2 million (2011)[1]
Number of employees
 5,500 (2012)[2]
Divisions
Subsidiaries
Website www.eddiestobart.com

Eddie Stobart Logistics Ltd (trading as Eddie Stobart) is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in road haulage, rail freight, deep sea and inland waterway transport systems and deep sea port, inland port and rail-connected storage facilities, along with transport, handling and warehousing facilities through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium. The company has its operational head office in Warrington, Cheshire.

Started by 'Steady' Eddie Stobart in the late 1940s as an agricultural business in Cumbria, the company was incorporated as Eddie Stobart Ltd. on 23 November 1970 as a haulage firm, eventually passing to his son, Edward Stobart.[3] After a series of complex takeovers, the Stobart company has developed from a haulage company to an intermodal logistics company, achieving a stock market listing without an IPO through a reverse takeover of the Westbury Property Fund. In 2014, the logistics part of the company regained majority private ownership when Douglas Bay Capital bought a 51% share in the business from the Stobart Group, which remains publicly traded. Following the step down of Edward in 2003, the Stobart family is now represented in the business by Edward's brother William Stobart.

The company is 51% privately owned by Douglas Bay Capital (including a 6% stake held by William Stobart), and 49% publicly owned by the Stobart Group.

History

Origins

A Subaru Impreza with Stobart advertising

The business was started by 'Steady' Eddie Stobart in the late 1940s as an agricultural business in Cumbria. His son, Edward Stobart Junior, was born in Cumberland in England on 21 November 1954 at his parents' house just outside Hesket Newmarket near Carlisle. He was one of four children, with an elder sister Anne, an elder brother John and a younger brother William. He was always called Edward to avoid confusion with his father Eddie. He was very interested in lorries, and when he left school, he started working for his father's contracting business delivering agricultural material in the region. By 1970, the company consisted of three main parts: Fertilizer, Haulage and a Farm shop in Wigton. These various business activities were eventually split up in the 1980s. Most remained in the ownership of family members, with Edward taking control of the road haulage and the name, Eddie Stobart Ltd in 1976. Under Edward's management, the fleet quickly grew from 26 lorries in 1985 to 300 in 1990. This rapid expansion gained the company the honour of 'Haulier of the Year' in 1990.

Move to Carlisle

In 1976 Edward Stobart and the fleet of eight lorries moved to Carlisle to be closer to the M6 motorway.

A lot of hard work, never declining an order, and a virtual paranoia about keeping his lorries, characterised by their Tautliner bodies, immaculately clean eventually paid off, and Edward started to get orders from larger businesses. One of the key success factors for the company was its specific emphasis on building a strong reputation and corporate image. For example, in the 1980s and 1990s, if any driver was caught not wearing a tie while on duty, he or she could face disciplinary action. Similarly, the company had a policy that all drivers must wave back and honk their horn in the traditional truck-driver fashion when signalled by a passer-by or "Eddie spotter" to do so.

Other key elements in its growth at this time were the introduction of a new management team in 1986 and the opening, on 1 April 1987, of its first depot in the English Midlands (at Burnaston).[4]

By 2000 the enlarged Eddie Stobart Group Ltd. consisted of three divisions: Eddie Stobart Ltd., Eddie Stobart International and Eddie Stobart Promotions.

The Fuel Crisis

By 2002 the company was experiencing financial difficulties caused by the fuel crisis. In 2001 the haulage business had posted its first loss,[5] with the fan club making more money than the haulage business.[5]

Purchase by WA Developments

On 15 October 2003 it was announced that Eddie Stobart was to be sold to WA Developments, a civil engineering company that specialised in railway maintenance, based in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria. At the time, Eddie Stobart was 55% owned by Edward Stobart and 45% owned by his brother William. WA Developments was 27% owned by William and 73% owned by William's school friend, brother-in-law and business partner Andrew Tinkler. In effect, therefore, William Stobart's stake in Eddie Stobart reduced from 45% to 27%.

Eddie Stobart Group Ltd. became a subsidiary of W.A. Developments International Ltd, a parent company of WA Developments. Upon completion on 4 February 2004, Andrew Tinkler became Chairman and William Stobart became Managing Director of Eddie Stobart.

Acquisition of Carlisle Airport

Following further growth, the company had previously been looking to move from its Carlisle base and was considering a relocation further down the M6 motorway to Warrington. These plans were rejected due to potential job losses in Carlisle.[5] Stobart had also been considering expanding into the air freight business. On 7 April 2006 Haughey Airports Ltd – the company which operated Carlisle Airport – was acquired by Eddie Stobart's parent company WA Developments, through a subsidiary company Stobart Air Holdings Ltd.[6] Haughey Airports Ltd was then renamed Stobart Air Ltd, and Carlisle Airport was re-branded as Carlisle Lake District Airport.

Plans were announced to redevelop the airport site to include a new passenger terminal, an air freight service, a new joint headquarters for WA Developments and Eddie Stobart, and a 750,000-square-foot (70,000 m2) distribution centre.[5]

Expansion into Rail Freight

In September 2006 Stobart increased its rail operations by launching a new rail freight service for Tesco, under the Stobart Rail banner.[7]

Listing on the London Stock Exchange

In 2007, following the need for further investment in Eddie Stobart, WA Developments appointed BDO Stoy Hayward and The Royal Bank of Scotland to discuss its options. French rival Norbert Dentressangle said it would be interested in buying Eddie Stobart, but Andrew Tinkler preferred external investment, without a complete sale.

On 15 August 2007 the Eddie Stobart business gained a stock market listing through the reverse acquisition of the Westbury Property Fund Ltd, a commercial property and ports company.[8][9]

Westbury acquired the ultimate Eddie Stobart Ltd. holding company, Stobart Holdings Ltd., from W.A. Developments International Ltd. for £137.7 million: £62 million in cash and £76 million in new Westbury Property Fund shares. The renamed Westbury group then became the London Stock Exchange listed Stobart Group Ltd., with Andrew Tinkler and William Stobart becoming substantial shareholders holding 20% and 8.5% respectively of the Stobart Group and becoming Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the Stobart Group respectively.

In return, Westbury would sell the bulk of its commercial property portfolio, Westbury Properties Ltd., to another WA Developments subsidiary, WADI Properties Ltd., for £142.0 million in cash. The Stobart Air operation, owners of Carlisle Lake District Airport, remained outside the enlarged group, still owned by WA Developments.[9]

With the Westbury takeover Stobart gained the Port of Weston in Runcorn. At the same time as the Westbury merger it was announced that the "O'Connor Group" was also being purchased by Westlink, at the time a wholly owned business of Westbury, from the O'Connor family for £22 million.[10] The O'Connor Group operates a truck fleet of approximately 90 vehicles, offering transmodal road rail services at the 'inland port', Widnes Intermodal Rail Depot.

In March 2007 Westbury had also acquired AHC – a rail terminal operator and storage, facilities handling and transport business – operating on a site adjacent to the O'Connor terminal.[8] Westbury also operated a joint venture, Victa Westlink Rail, between its Westlink subsidiary and Victa Railfreight.[8]

The company was split into three divisions: Eddie Stobart, Stobart Rail and Stobart Ports, with the opportunity of adding a fourth division, Stobart Air, in the future.

Stobart Group's First Acquisitions

On 10 March 2008 the Stobart Group announced the acquisition of James Irlam & Sons Ltd, one of the largest independently owned road transport logistics providers in the UK.[11] The company was purchased from the Irlam family for £59.9 million.

On 1 April 2008 the Stobart Group (incorporating Eddie Stobart Ltd) started its first dedicated operations in Ireland, Stobart Ireland, based in Dublin, following the acquisition of TDG's Irish trailer operations.[12]

In July 2008 it was announced that the group had taken over the chilled and ambient goods distribution operations from the administrators of Innovate Logistics Limited, saving the jobs of around 1,300 Innovate employees.[13]

On 14 September 2009, MP David Taylor officially opened Stobart's Nestlé distribution centre in Bardon, Coalville, Leicestershire, after a £7 million refurbishment creating an extra 62 jobs. The new site previously owned by Innovate Logistics, at full capacity, will hold 110,000 pallets, and 88,000 tonnes of goods. The hub distributes approx 75% of Nestlé UK's deliveries of products such as Kit-Kats, Smarties and Nescafé.[14]

Edward Stobart's death

Edward Stobart died on Thursday 31 March 2011 suffering heart problems. He was 56.[15]

Autologic purchase

On 18 June 2012, Stobart Group's subsidiary, Stobart Holdings Ltd., announced the acquisition of the car transporter logistics operator, Autologic Holdings PLC, for 20p in cash per Autologic ordinary share, valuing the company at £12.4 million. After Autologic shareholder approval, the acquisition was completed on 10 August 2012.[16]

Back into majority private ownership

In March 2014, Stobart Group announced its intention to re-position itself as an Infrastructure and Supports Services business, with the announcement of the sale of its original Transport and Distribution business to Douglas Bay Capital for £280.8 million: £195.6 million in cash and £44.1 million in shares (and therefore a 49% stake) of the new Eddie Stobart Logistics business.

William Stobart left his position as Chief Operating Officer the Stobart Group to become Chief Executive Officer of Eddie Stobart Logistics.

Paintjob History

The first truck bought by Eddie Stobart in 1960 was painted post-office red and Brunswick green with yellow lettering. These colours were used for subsequent vehicles up to 1969.

The trucks of Eddie Stobart Ltd, like the Iveco Turbostar and Scania Series 2, received the "Classic Skin" paintjob. This was the same green, a darker red, white, and gold yellow paintjob with the trailer green, dark red, and gold yellow. They had these paintjobs from 1970 to 1999.

The final wave of trucks like the Scania R, Volvo FH16, MAN TGX, received the "Modern Skin" paintjob. Gone was the gold yellow, the dark red is now changed to a regular red, and the dark green was changed to a mixture of dark and bright green. The white has remained the same. These colours have been used since 2000.

Current operations

Eddie Stobart Logistics comprises transport, storage and handling services, meeting ambient and chilled distribution, and warehousing requirements across ten business units.

It operates from 40 sites in the UK and Europe and includes the previous divisions of Eddie Stobart: The original trucking business; Stobart Ireland: Warehousing and cross-docking facilities for all of Ireland; Stobart Rail: Rail Freight solutions; and Stobart Ports: Waterway and inland container ports.

William Stobart is the Chief Executive Officer of Eddie Stobart Logistics, with a 6% stake.

Eddie Stobart

The largest part of Eddie Stobart Logistics is the original Eddie Stobart road haulage business. It also includes the former operations of James Irlam and Innovative Logistics. The Stobart Group completed the acquisition of Autologic in August 2012.

It comprises 2,280 trucks and 3,500 trailers as of August 2012 and uses a "Pay per Mile" system to charge clients, as opposed to a Fixed Payment System.

There are ten main business units and 40 main sites in the UK.

Eddie Stobart's clients include: A H Barr, Britvic, B&Q, Coca-Cola, Crown Paints, Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Golden Wonder, Groupe Danone, Homebase, InBev, Johnson & Johnson, Mars, Incorporated, Mercedes AMG Petronas, Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Pirelli, Tesco and Unilever.

Eddie Stobart has a 2% market share of the road haulage industry.

Fuel

The Eddie Stobart fleet includes a number of Volvo FM dual-fuel trucks, running primarily on liquid natural gas with diesel as a back-up.[17]

Stobart Rail Freight

The Stobart Group operates some rail based services, both for freight as the Stobart Rail service, and (formerly) for passengers. Rail operations were provided for the group by Direct Rail Services (DRS), but in 2009 it announced that it was switching partners to DB Schenker Rail (UK).[18] Stobart also operated a short lived Stobart Pullman charter train.

For rail freight transport the group owns warehousing at the rail-connected Daventry International Railfreight Terminal (DIRFT), and owns the rail-connected Widnes Intermodal Rail Depot.

A service operated by DRS started on 4 November 2008 from Inverness southwards carrying containers operated for Tesco. The containers all carry the "Stobart Rail" or "Tesco - Less CO2" branding. Trucks carrying Stobart Rail branded containers are also carried by the haulage company J G Russell which partners Stobart in this operation.[19]

The Stobart Group also briefly entered the passenger railtour market, through the Stobart Pullman, which was a re-branding of the Hertfordshire Rail Tours business inherited from Victa Westlink Rail. Traction was provided by Direct Rail Services using Stobart branded carriages. It was launched in February 2008 but as of July 2008 the operation was suspended, presumed closed.[20]

On 30 October 2009 Stobart Rail commenced a new train service (operated in conjunction with DB Schenker Rail (UK); it operates a 1,100 mile journey from Valencia, providing a low carbon alternative for the import of fresh Spanish produce, terminating at the Ford Dagenham rail head.[21]

Stobart Ports

O'Connor Group Management Ltd (trading as Stobart Ports) is the ports division of the Stobart Group. It owns a site in Widnes, Cheshire.

Stobart Ports was formed from the merger of the Westbury Property Fund's Port of Weston in Runcorn with the adjacent site owned by O'Connor Ports in Widnes, Cheshire.

It handles 150,000 containers each year.

Stobart Park

Stobart Park is an industrial park located in Widnes, Cheshire. Stobart Park's biggest tenant is Tesco.

In popular culture

Channel 5 and Princess Productions released a program dedicated to the Stobart group, Eddie Stobart: Trucks & Trailers which first aired on 24 September 2010. Ever since, the popular TV show has ratings of 1.85 million and shows an insight into the company and some of its famous drivers on a day-to-day basis.

The Stobart Group was featured on Top Gear in 1995, when presenter Tony Mason visited the company's Carlisle headquarters. Mason talked to members of staff and discussed the popular perception of the company. Another appearance was made on Top Gear during the Reliant Robin rocket challenge. The Reliant was transported to the launch site on a flatbed Stobart truck to Richard Hammond and James May.

A one-off TV show was produced for ITV4 called Eddie Stobart - Smart truckers. Narrated by Paddy McGuiness, the show included the boss William Stobart doing deliveries to distribution centres and the firm's race horses.

Recently, a CD has been produced called Eddie Stobart trucking songs. The CD features all the truckers rock songs and artists including Queen, Fleetwood Mac and Motorhead. It made No.1 in the charts and is available from most supermarkets.

Its familiar red, green, and white paint jobs are seen in Euro Truck Simulator 2 [game by SCS Software] as a mod created by Eddie Stobart and Trucking fans. The Stobart Rail group also features in the game as a skin on the Scania R only.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Preliminary Results 2011" (PDF). Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  2. ↑ "About us". Stobart Group. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  3. ↑ "Haulage magnate Edward Stobart dies, aged 56". BBC. 31 March 2011.
  4. ↑ Davies, Hunter (2001). The Eddie Stobart Story. London: HarperCollinsEntertainment. ISBN 0-00-711597-0.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Where next for 'Steady Eddie' Stobart? BBC News, 6 September 2006
  6. ↑ Carlisle Airport News. Retrieved 8 April 2006.
  7. ↑ "The future of multimodal logistics | Stobart Transport and Distribution | Stobart Estates | Stobart Infrastructure and Civils | Stobart Air | Stobart Biomass | Stobart Brand". Eddiestobart.co.uk. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 Eddie Stobart joining Stock Market Eddie Stobart News, 15 August 2007. Retrieved April 2008.
  9. 1 2 Eddie Stobart merges with Westbury and goes public Commercialmotor.com, 15 August 2007
  10. ↑ Takeover announcement O'Connor Group, 15 August 2007. Retrieved April 2008.
  11. ↑ Irlam brothers sell to rival Eddie Stobart The Telegraph, 14 March 2008
  12. ↑ Eddie Stobart arrives in Ireland HGV Ireland, 5 April 2008
  13. ↑ Stobart deal saves 1300 jobs at Innovate Logistics Yorkshire Post, 1 July 2008
  14. ↑ MP opens £7m Nestle hub This is Business East Midlands, 15 September 2009
  15. ↑ Obituary: Edward Stobart Daily Telegraph, 31 March 2011
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ ""Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers - Series 2 Episode 5" at". Roadtransport.com. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  18. ↑ "Stobart appoints DB Schenker Rail as provider of UK rail freight services". Stobart Group. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
  19. ↑ "New Freight Terminal for Inverness" (PDF). Railway Herald (162): 3. 19 January 2009.
  20. ↑ "Scot-rail charter trains 2008". Scot-rail.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  21. ↑ "Stobart launches Valencia rail service". World Cargo News. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2011.

External links

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