24.05.2019
New access rental company
John Corrie, the access industry veteran and founder of Safe Access Solutions has moved back to the UK and is opening a new access rental company.
In late March he set up Core Access Rentals for which he is listed as sole shareholder and director. He will be the managing director, while son Dean is operations manager.
Both of them have been working in the Middle East for the past few years, where they have managed Rental Solutions and Services and have now returned to the UK. The two are starting off with a modest depot in the West Bromwich area in the west Midlands. The plan is to open next week, with a few machines offering a high quality service and then gradually build the business on a firm foundation.
A number of readers have contacted us in the past couple of weeks, to say that the Corries have called on them looking to set up rehire agreements, and we understand that they have approached at least one manufacturer to discuss new equipment. All of the calls we have received have had the same tone, expressing concern that given their previous companies left many of them with unpaid debts, mostly for machinery rehires, and that they might well do the same all over again.
The Corries past ventures have included Safe Access Solutions (SAS) in which John Corrie was a major shareholder and director, although
he stepped down as a director apparently following a lawsuit from Ras Al-Khaimah bank, regarding an outstanding loan, which according to reports at the time resulted in him declaring personal bankruptcy. Dean stayed on as director until the company was dissolved in 2015 when the business assets were sold to AFI
The family was also apparently involved with Access on Demand (AOD) which was dissolved with outstanding County Court judgements, and more recently Hoist Hire(UK) Ltd which has been dissolved – nothing to do with the business known as Hoist hire services. The two had also joined Green Access Platforms with Keith Kendall, Mike Wishart and Pierrick Lourdain, but made a swift exit after just a couple of weeks or so.
John Corrie has a long history in the access industry having started out as a manager with Ashtead in 1991, moving to Hewden in 2000, and Nationwide in 2005. In 2008 he moved to Abu Dhabi as general manager of Instant Access, returning to the UK in 2012 to set up Safe Access Solutions (SAS).
Vertikal Comment
A key question here is does a person deserve a second chance?
John Corrie is clearly a first rate sales person and has held several senior managerial jobs with large companies over long periods of time. So he is clearly talented and a skilled operator, although some might wonder whether those talents were tuned to the financial challenges of an entrepreneurial start up? However there was little or no question about the quality of the service and organisation at SAS, in fact a number of people were impressed at the time.
There are plenty of examples of individuals that have faced repeated bankruptcies, only to learn from their mistakes or misfortune, and find great success later on. The chance to bounce back and have another go is, whether you like it or not a corner stone of the western capitalist system, as long as no fraudulent activity is involved of course, which the system treats quite differently- and rightly so.
When it comes to leaving unpaid debts behind, there are two views: On the one hand no one is forced to extend credit for rehires, or even to let such people have machines – we all have free will after all. But all too often companies not only extend credit to start ups without making the right checks, or taking sensible precautions to limit potential damage from non payment, but continue to provide more and more credit, long after the first invoice remains unpaid. In one way they allow these people to carry on building up a debt mountain that will lead to a bigger failure than if the industry had worked together and limited their exposure.
However, this depends on how the debts are accumulated. Promises of payment and winning the trust of good natured suppliers with lies and untruths, when it is clear that the company is unlikely to be able to pay, and building up debt within the business to levels that are totally unsupportable by skipping between suppliers or other more methods, is not only immoral but often illegal. To repeat the process or errors with another company takes the issue another level all together. We do not know exactly what happened at SAS when things started going wrong. All manner of aspersions have circulated in the industry at the time and more recently, many from ex business partners/employees. As is often the case there are different versions of what happened depending on who of the protaganists you speak to. It was clear at the time that a fair number of unpleasant personal events occurred in the final days of the business – but only those directly involved really know what happened.
Going forward actions speak much louder than words, and while the Corries say that they want to run a solid, modest and responsible business with Core, and perhaps try to repair some of the damage done in the past, they can only do so with their actions, both in the short term and over a lengthy period of time if they are to stand any chance of convincing those that previously got burnt, that this time it is different.
Is this second or third time lucky for John Corrie? Only time will tell.
waltdisney
I applaud the editor in attempting to reset the perspective in his commentary, and he is absolutely right that everyone deserves another chance or two, to set things right if that is what is needed. Clearly JDC is trying to set the record straight, but he does come across as very defensive, which may not be the best approach if you are indeed trying to begin a new chapter. The comments he makes in his defence seem to indicate that maybe the problems in the previous business are in the main of his own making he was after all the major shareholder and Managing Director maybe he needs to accept responsibility for those failures, instead it does appears to be everyone else’s fault. Math does not appear to be his strongest skill set either, looking at companies house records the comment of £3.5M of good debt on a company that turned over about a third of that annually and that debt was factored seems arithmetically wrong, particularly when the administrators Duff & Phelps state it was £300k . The personal bankruptcy happened in Oct 2014 as reported on Vertikal and the business seemed to nose dive after that all because of a credit card debt and yet that credit card debt managed to migrate its way from the Middle East into the UK court system with all requirements to communicate with individuals set out in law and yet it turns out to be a simple administration error which from the phrase a credit card debt implies/infers its relatively small amount, not sure the logic is hanging together here. But all those facts are irrelevant for this all has to do with his former best mate who has circulated malicious tales of nonsense. Unfortunately for JDC the information in the public domain, companies house etc paint a slightly different picture, I kinda feel sorry for the his son in all this who appears to have borne the brunt of the some of the criticism
AccessibL
Once again, I feel we must take our hats off to the proper unbiased/bothbiased explanation of the editor. I recall in the past how he has explained the problems of cash flow and the actions of the banks in layman's terms far beyond my normal comprehension. J D C has explained himself well. Very well, I'd say. Seems to be at a bad time, unfortunately. Business in general seems dire. I've heard customers say they think people are holding back because of the Crossrail debacle, and there seems to be a general belief that people just don't care as much any more. Look at Tottenham Stadium, for instance.
Factnotgossip
Whilst a sad indictment of our industry that anybody at all would take the opportunity to comment on rumours that are 90% fictitious and without actually having the balls to actually ask the right questions I’ve had enough of the smear campaign by former ‘best friends’ and so here is the nuts and bolts of the true version of events:
- SAS was a profitable business that grew too quickly and leant heavily on factoring. When one of our directors was fired for mis-conduct he maliciously contacted the factoring company and spun a tale of nonsense that led to factoring being withdrawn and, in a heartbeat, we were paralysed.
- We intended to sell the business to a very well respected and prominent member of the access community (someone we all know and like) however were over-ridden by a first charge on the business by Afi and so they requested that the business be placed into administration to ‘help them’. We were advised that we were legally obliged to do so and, upon signature, I was escorted from the premises. The remaining debts were pretty small and we had £3.5 Million of good, collectable debt on the books. But we could not get to it. The reason some people were not paid was not our doing.
- We took zero from the SAS business and were effectively broke following the above. Hence we both took positions in the Middle East.
- I have had to endure a personal bankruptcy over a credit card debt from an earlier stint in the Middle East and that only happened due to incorrect paperwork. I’m very happy to prove this. But many of you seem to be listening to pub stories from an ill-advised former best friend - he is recounting false and exaggerated information that made a good story. Ask me........
- Over recent years my son has made a valiant attempt to start a couple of businesses with the intention of re-engaging with the good guys amongst you (I wonder how many there really are) but they didn’t get traction. And so he had to withdraw until we’ve decided to start a small business in Core Access. It’s actually a really credible and positive thing to try and do.........until the old washer-women of the access industry get to maliciously gossiping over the garden fence, or by vindictive and mostly fictional e-mail.
- And so to this week where many readers clearly have nothing better to do. We will be this week’s news and last week’s chip-paper very soon.
I invite anyone who reads the bile being circulated to invite me for a meeting and i’ll show you the real data that supports that we are good people operating with the best of intentions.
I don’t know why my former mate is scared enough to have to circulate such rubbish but i’m disappointed that some of you can’t smell bull when it’s in front of you. Surely you are better than that?!?
Allen100
Unbelievable! They have no shame!
Stay well clear, at least if you are going to throw money away you may as well waste it on something you enjoy. Between the pair of them they certainly no empathy for suppliers. Just take take take, whilst they spend spend spend - Suppliers can deal with the administrator.
OCCASIONERS
Think this venture should of been called. Rotten @ The Core Access Rentals.