McLeans Coaches of Witney, Oxfordshire went into administration on Friday (January 13).
The company has been in existence for 26 years and was one of the main suppliers of school transport for Oxfordshire County Council, with 19 contracts of their 20 contracts with the council.
A spokesman for McLeans told CBW the company had not gone into administration for financial reasons but because of a dispute with its insurance company. “I want to emphasise, it was not for financial reasons but because our insurance company hiked up its premium from £43,000 to £60,000 because they found out we had an investor,” he said. “We offered £30,000 upfront, with £10,000 for the next three quarters but they didn’t want to know even though we could guarantee the money.”
He said the directors felt held to ransom and consequently made the decision to go into administration.
McLeans employed 22 staff, on a variety of coach work, including private hire and day excursions.
