Rapide snaps up bigger rival
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by Juliet Parish • Rapide (UK) Freight Services is on the verge of buying an unprofitable rival textile haulier three times its size.
The acquisition of West Yorksbased Chris Metcalfe, which had £2m turnover last year, was due to be completed last Friday (27 August).
The move will increase Rapide's complement of drivers from 15 to 60 but the company admits that there will probably be redundancies among the combined workforce of 80.
Rapide is set to acquire three Metcalfe sites but it will not comment on the future of two of these, at Glasgow and Harlow.
Rapide will move out of its rented property at Shipley and into the remaining former Metcalfe site at Keighley.
The acquisition will boost Rapide's fleet from 16 to 63 trucks and from six to 33 trailers.
Rapide chief executive Keith Sabey is not disclosing how Rapide's three directors financed the takeover from the daughters of founder Chris Metcalfe, who died a few years ago.
Metcalfe lost money last year, while Rapide pulled in a profit on a turnover of £750,000 Sabey expects the combined business to reap £250,000 profit from a turnover of £3.25m once it has completed the restructuring process.
At this stage Rapide says it has not decided whether the Metcalfe name will be used to win niche business such as garments distribution; Rapide might decide to drop the 60-year-old Metcalfe name altogether.