A HAULAGE firm that hit the headlines when its owner registered his lorries overseas to save on road tax has gone into administration owing more than £500,000.

By Annie Davidson

A HAULAGE firm that hit the headlines when its owner registered his lorries overseas to save on road tax has gone into administration owing more than £500,000.

RT Steward Transport Ltd, which was based on the A120 at Ardleigh, went into administration on July 7.

A spokesman for accountant Grant Thornton UK LLP said RT Steward owed around £440,000 to creditors and a further £220,000 to HM Revenue and Customs.

Company boss Bob Steward hit the headlines in the past after he registered 15 of his vehicles in Holland because the road tax was cheaper.

In 2000, Mr Steward told the EADT that he also bought a lot of diesel in Europe because it was cheaper than the UK.

At the time, he warned: “If things do not improve here we'll lose another 25% of the hauliers in this country before this time next year.”

RT Steward Transport Ltd had been based in Manningtree but opened a truck stop on the A120 in Ardleigh.

The transport firm then moved to the site, which had previously been a petrol station.

A café at the A120 truck stop has been taken over by a new owner and is still running.

The site was leased from a landlord and did not belong to RT Steward Transport Ltd.

The spokesman for Grant Thornton UK LLP said it had been appointed to secure the assets of RT Steward which would then be sold and the money used to pay some of the creditors.

He said: “They won't get it all (the money owed) but we hope to pay a proportion or percentage.”

The spokesman added the accountants would collect people's statements and invoices and compare them to the company records.

Mr Steward could not be reached to comment on the closure of RT Steward Transport Ltd.