NFC National Freight Consortium, Rockwell Logistics and others. Tried to copy TDG Transport Deployment Group buying lots of regional Hauliers to bring together and make a major player, OK in the good times but the bank got nervous and pulled the plug.
Anyone work for this group or remember them, went under early 90s if I remember.
Backload the N.F.C. did not go under they were taken over by DHL in the 2000 s I worked for them twice from 67 to 75 at Pickfords and at Exel in the 90s to retirement and NFC paid my pension but it is now from DHL since the takeover.
National Freight Corporation was a name change from British Road services in the beginning some time around the early 1970s and all staff were offered shares around 75 as it was around when I left but was still offered them, which I did not take up and I know several drivers who did have them and joined their share saving scheme who ended up with tens of thousands of pounds worth of shares and a couple I know had over £100,000-00 worth as well as their pension.
backload:
NFC National Freight Consortium, Rockwell Logistics and others. Tried to copy TDG Transport Deployment Group buying lots of regional Hauliers to bring together and make a major player, OK in the good times but the bank got nervous and pulled the plug.
Anyone work for this group or remember them, went under early 90s if I remember.
TDG were totally different TDG was formed by a group of merchant bankers who bought out and invested in transport/shipping /warehousing and storage companies
Then let each individual group companies run autonomously in their own livery own choice of vehicles own management etc
The head office only got involved if a group company wanted capitol for a range of things as in expansion fleet replacement so on as long as it returned a decent yield
If a group company was failing then it would be took under head office to see why then either merged or if uneconomical would be closed down
TDG was a massive company with businesses all over the world
America Canada Europe Africa Australia
The rot set in when Sir James Duncan (a founder member of TDG) retired in the late 80s and his replacement a chemist !!! took over
This was the downward spiral from the beginning of the 90s TDG became more centralised and more interference came from head office
So when good decent transport men who had built up good solid haulage companies and ran them were replaced by “graduates” in logistics who weren’t interested in general haulage but big contracts
These long established firms who never put all their eggs in one basket were gradually ruined with the disposal of small but good profitable traffic in the quest for a sole big contract
This led to the demise of some big names in road haulage who were closed down due to the loss of contracts either by being undercut or mostly bad management because they’d gave away the bread and butter work which probably could of kept some of these firms going
The firm I worked for was on par with BRS/Exel if not better when it came to wages/ terms and conditions
Plus the amount of people who were unaware we were a TDG company especially when I told them since 1964
Sammyopisite, Yes you are correct however the Share Issue I debatable as I cannot remember what year it was HOWEVER I distinctly remember the UNION opposition to this move to but shares! in the company you were working for.as I was working for MORTONS BRS at chipping warden nr BANBURY, RULED AND UNION RUN BY COVENTRY DEPOT, and that was their stance it was made quite plan not to buy shares.
Some men did not listen to them ,but a whole lot of us did, and lost out on thousands of pounds but do not forget as a driver you never got to know anything about the management it was 100% them and us, I kid you knot ,however after time we got made redundant 1980 after the disastrous drivers strike they offerd for us to but the units, what! we had not two penny’s to rub together. however certain men who I will not name, UNION MEN!!! ENDED UP WITH UNITS.
Some exhibit now at the truck type shows in green “mortons” when you see them ask them when they got them…
The NFC couldn’t fail. There was so much land that went with the privatization, it was the biggest give-away of tax payers’ assets ever. A lot of drivers made money with thier shares but the really big money was made by upper management when they split the transport from the real estate. The drivers got the lorries and management got the land.
ChrisArbon:
The NFC couldn’t fail. There was so much land that went with the privatization, it was the biggest give-away of tax payers’ assets ever. A lot of drivers made money with thier shares but the really big money was made by upper management when they split the transport from the real estate. The drivers got the lorries and management got the land.
Spot on that was Thatchers legacy to sell off everything cheap and divide and conquer
It’s amazing what happens when you dangle a carrot in front of a donkey
gazsa401:
ChrisArbon:
The NFC couldn’t fail. There was so much land that went with the privatization, it was the biggest give-away of tax payers’ assets ever. A lot of drivers made money with thier shares but the really big money was made by upper management when they split the transport from the real estate. The drivers got the lorries and management got the land.Spot on that was Thatchers legacy to sell off everything cheap and divide and conquer
It’s amazing what happens when you dangle a carrot in front of a donkey
It was 1982 when the drivers were offered the shares. You had to purchase a minimum of £200,£1 per share for 200 shares.
People have to remember that lots of families lived in council houses at the time and with respect the average worker had no knowledge of how shares
worked.The banks would lend for a mortgage when your local manager called you in and looked you straight in the eyes and knew your history of savings.
Depot managers however really new the assets of the company and it was lottery pay day for lots of them.
Around 56-58 million pound the company was worth as to shares issued,not long after part of Kings Cross depot was sold for over 10million.
That original share i admit with dividends etc was worth 72pound.
The Nfc had a property group called hyperion if my memory serves me right.[asset stripper]
Again like Sir Duncan[TDG],Sir Peter Thompson was head at Nfc and even Norman Tebbit was on the board.
Yes SCANIA 80 what you say is partly correct however as I have sais we were made REDUNDANT in march 1980 and the share option was on over at least 2 years before 1978 .
your assumption that most drivers lived in council houses is also correct 100%,
I./we never had a bank account until 1977 , .TS.B. WEERE THE ONLY BANK THAT WOULD ENTERTAIN ME/ .US as we still got paid every Friday cash /wage packet and it was Mortons BRS that wanted to pay us, by bank weekly ,not monthly other banks WOULD not entertain me as I was A “manual worker” not staff status …On this site that I like, and some haulage books you read , I normally have a good idea if the truth is being written about when men say I [STARTED FROM NOTHINGI] all bull as they had money, from family to start owner driving ,Because you could not get a bank account, or mortgage ,well not where I came from.
As for the drivers having the lorries ? yes they were offered them , we were, when being made redundant .because" no work "why would you buy a lorry, keep it outside a council house.as a operating centre, back then you had to leave lights on all night if on a road…between hedge rows was the order.
deckboypeggy:
Yes SCANIA 80 what you say is partly correct however as I have sais we were made REDUNDANT in march 1980 and the share option was on over at least 2 years before 1978 .your assumption that most drivers lived in council houses is also correct 100%,
I./we never had a bank account until 1977 , .TS.B. WEERE THE ONLY BANK THAT WOULD ENTERTAIN ME/ .US as we still got paid every Friday cash /wage packet and it was Mortons BRS that wanted to pay us, by bank weekly ,not monthly other banks WOULD not entertain me as I was A “manual worker” not staff status …On this site that I like, and some haulage books you read , I normally have a good idea if the truth is being written about when men say I [STARTED FROM NOTHINGI] all bull as they had money, from family to start owner driving ,Because you could not get a bank account, or mortgage ,well not where I came from.
As for the drivers having the lorries ? yes they were offered them , we were, when being made redundant .because" no work "why would you buy a lorry, keep it outside a council house.as a operating centre, back then you had to leave lights on all night if on a road…between hedge rows was the order.
DBP I opened my first bank account in 1963 with William Deacons in Sheffield and my first mortgage in 68/69 from Sheffield council and the only problem I had was having it in joint names as my wife was not working ( looking after bairn ) but after several meetings they agreed as I was running into Europe and not home much to sign things.
Yes ok SAMMYOPISITE you may well have done however it was not one of the main high street banks all over the country, ,what were you doing in 1963 I bet not driving lorrys…as a employee…I used to pay off ships in them years, and have money orders made out to a local bank but they never gave me a account.
THE Council must have been selling off housing stock before mrs Thatcher good on them.
scania81:
gazsa401:
ChrisArbon:
The NFC couldn’t fail. There was so much land that went with the privatization, it was the biggest give-away of tax payers’ assets ever. A lot of drivers made money with thier shares but the really big money was made by upper management when they split the transport from the real estate. The drivers got the lorries and management got the land.Spot on that was Thatchers legacy to sell off everything cheap and divide and conquer
It’s amazing what happens when you dangle a carrot in front of a donkeyIt was 1982 when the drivers were offered the shares. You had to purchase a minimum of £200,£1 per share for 200 shares.
People have to remember that lots of families lived in council houses at the time and with respect the average worker had no knowledge of how shares
worked.The banks would lend for a mortgage when your local manager called you in and looked you straight in the eyes and knew your history of savings.
Depot managers however really new the assets of the company and it was lottery pay day for lots of them.
Around 56-58 million pound the company was worth as to shares issued,not long after part of Kings Cross depot was sold for over 10million.
That original share i admit with dividends etc was worth 72pound.
The Nfc had a property group called hyperion if my memory serves me right.[asset stripper]
Again like Sir Duncan[TDG],Sir Peter Thompson was head at Nfc and even Norman Tebbit was on the board.
You cannot compare Sir James Duncan with Peter Thompson ! Sir James actually built up the TDG whereas Thompson was just “placeman” who got lucky by being the last CEO of the nationalised NFC and he got his snout into the trough at the finish when Maggie was knocking out all the nationalised industries for a fraction of what they were really worth ! Don’t get me started ! the Poor UK tax payer got shafted good and proper ! Cheers Bewick.
Bewick:
scania81:
gazsa401:
ChrisArbon:
The NFC couldn’t fail. There was so much land that went with the privatization, it was the biggest give-away of tax payers’ assets ever. A lot of drivers made money with thier shares but the really big money was made by upper management when they split the transport from the real estate. The drivers got the lorries and management got the land.Spot on that was Thatchers legacy to sell off everything cheap and divide and conquer
It’s amazing what happens when you dangle a carrot in front of a donkeyIt was 1982 when the drivers were offered the shares. You had to purchase a minimum of £200,£1 per share for 200 shares.
People have to remember that lots of families lived in council houses at the time and with respect the average worker had no knowledge of how shares
worked.The banks would lend for a mortgage when your local manager called you in and looked you straight in the eyes and knew your history of savings.
Depot managers however really new the assets of the company and it was lottery pay day for lots of them.
Around 56-58 million pound the company was worth as to shares issued,not long after part of Kings Cross depot was sold for over 10million.
That original share i admit with dividends etc was worth 72pound.
The Nfc had a property group called hyperion if my memory serves me right.[asset stripper]
Again like Sir Duncan[TDG],Sir Peter Thompson was head at Nfc and even Norman Tebbit was on the board.You cannot compare Sir James Duncan with Peter Thompson ! Sir James actually built up the TDG whereas Thompson was just “placeman” who got lucky by being the last CEO of the nationalised NFC and he got his snout into the trough at the finish when Maggie was knocking out all the nationalised industries for a fraction of what they were really worth ! Don’t get me started ! the Poor UK tax payer got shafted good and proper ! Cheers Bewick.
Scania 81 I don’t know if you read my post I wrote Sir James Duncan was replaced by a chemist whose name I didn’t print
It was a chap called Alan Cole and sadly the rest is history
deckboypeggy:
Yes ok SAMMYOPISITE you may well have done however it was not one of the main high street banks all over the country, ,what were you doing in 1963 I bet not driving lorrys…as a employee…I used to pay off ships in them years, and have money orders made out to a local bank but they never gave me a account.THE Council must have been selling off housing stock before mrs Thatcher good on them.
I was on the buses 63 to 67 and it was not a council house we bought, we came out of a new council house to buy a terrace house two up two down and with it being over a 100 years old struggled to get a mortgage but the council did offer mortgages at the time and as it needed a lot of work ( no bathroom and out side toilet ) the council had a surveyor check everything and with me being away from home a lot it was like having a project manager for free, builders were not so happy about though
sammyopisite:
deckboypeggy:
Yes ok SAMMYOPISITE you may well have done however it was not one of the main high street banks all over the country, ,what were you doing in 1963 I bet not driving lorrys…as a employee…I used to pay off ships in them years, and have money orders made out to a local bank but they never gave me a account.THE Council must have been selling off housing stock before mrs Thatcher good on them.
I was on the buses 63 to 67 and it was not a council house we bought, we came out of a new council house to buy a terrace house two up two down and with it being over a 100 years old struggled to get a mortgage but the council did offer mortgages at the time and as it needed a lot of work ( no bathroom and out side toilet ) the council had a surveyor check everything and with me being away from home a lot it was like having a project manager for free, builders were not so happy about though
Just to clarify i was not comparing Sir Duncan with Sir Peter Thompson but merely stating that he was the head of the NFC.
During my time as a driver, I bought as many shares as I could and had all my yearly bonus payments as shares, this was against the advice of the union for which you had to be a member of at that time, my decision was more of a gamble after learning some tory team players 
were re-morgaging houses to buy shares before the sale. Bewick is right it was a rip off at the taxpayers expense, I think it was bought for something like 52 million and sold 100million pounds worth of property in the first year and still traded a profit. Of course it wasn’t only NFC, Telecom, British gas and many others went this way at the hands of those that sold the family silver under Mrs Thatcher and we still have the same today with the present Selfservative party !
Trev_H:
During my time as a driver, I bought as many shares as I could and had all my yearly bonus payments as shares, this was against the advice of the union for which you had to be a member of at that time, my decision was more of a gamble after learning some tory team players
Now I fully understand why you can afford to live in comparative luxury and semi retirement in the “up Market” locality of Penkridge Trev ! 
Cheers Dennis.
Trev_ H
Well done you must have had some sound advice.
it was a pity I never did, however I needed very penny I had … would I be correct in saying that at the start of the sell off, shares were like a penny… You are 100% correct about the union giving all the false crap ,etc, do not buy in to the company if I remember correct it was made[verbally] as if we were to buy shares in the company only that we worked for, [ Mortons B.R.S.] ie not the whole group, and we would not have known what the group was, at the time work was short, being made redundant was on the cards, to be honest me and most others ,with no money sense , and no guidance and we like sheep swallowed the bluff…who had the shares ,the union men…you maybe be able to say when the shares started to be offered to drivers ,[what year] …tks dbp.
DBP, I seem to think it was about 81 and at the time I had one of the best managers I have ever worked for, he was an ex. driver and would often come out of the office and make us a brew or even sheet trailers, he was the type of guy who would never ask you to do something he wouldn’t be prepared to do himself. Anyway I asked him about the buyout and his opinion, he said as a manager he wasn’t allowed to advise me but he did give me a tip about those at the top of the tree borrowing money wherever they could to buy shares and I was to come to my own conclusion about that !