“Phoenix” Concerns Dealt with in Less than 30 Minutes at Traffic Commissioner’s Public Inquiry

The operator in this matter, represented at Public inquiry by barrister Harry Bowyer, was applying for a licence. The business looked very much like a previous business that had gone into liquidation. We were able to show that the assets of the old business had been sold as a pre pack to a group of venture capitalists who had engaged the old management and staff. The business began to stultify during the Covid 19 Pandemic at which stage there was a management buy out. As restrictions were lifted business picked up and an application was made for an operators licence. The Traffic Commissioner suspected that this might be a Phoenix application but was satisfied on the papers submitted to him that this was a bona fide operation and that the assets from the old company had been bought for money’s worth. As the paper trail had been presented before the Public Inquiry to his satisfaction we were out in the sunshine before 30 minutes had passed with the new licence granted as applied for.