Rivus appoints administrators | Staff transferred to Met Police

Financial difficulties have forced Rivus Fleet Solutions into administration with directors failing to find a viable alternative for the business.

Administrators Tim Higgins, Jane Steer and Zelf Hussain from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) were appointed on Friday (June 21).

Rivus Fleet Solutions provided service, maintenance and repair (SMR) for National Grid, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and National Highways amongst others.

Following the appointment of administrators, the majority of Rivus Fleet Solutions’ assets were sold to the Met, safeguarding 165 jobs and allowing the continuation of the delivery of crucial fleet services to the police force. Some 55 members of staff were immediately made redundant.

Rivus was managing the fleet maintenance and repair of 3,700 emergency response, support and general-purpose vehicles as part of its contract with the Met.

Higgins said: ”We are pleased to have successfully secured a transaction which safeguards 165 jobs, despite Rivus having suffered the loss of a material customer at the end of last year.

“We will now focus our efforts to ensure a smooth continuation of any services required post-sale, to both seek to minimise disruption for non-Met customers, as well as support the Met in any transitional services required.” 

The sale has no impact on the trading business of Rivus’ sister Pullman Fleet Solutions trading as Rivus HGV.

National Grid is in the process of making alternative arrangements for the SMR of its vehicles. Head of fleet, Lorna McAtear, told Fleet News: “We weren’t surprised, but we hoped it wouldn’t happen, because it’s a long-standing company.

“It is a reflection of how difficult the marketplace is now, especially for specialist vehicles.

“Since the closure of Rivus’s workshops, we have been exploring the market and we also mobilised a third of our commercial fleet into our own (33) workshops which we used as emergency cover.

“We also brought in house all of our HGV fleet management. We are now looking for a third-party partner for our commercial fleet.”

Rivus announced a major restructure in an effort to cut costs in July 2023, after struggling to replace business lost from losing a fleet maintenance deal with BT Group.

The company closed 48 of its light commercial vehicle (LCV) garages, cutting its existing network by more than half, from 78 to just 30 sites including its heavy goods vehicle (HGV) network.

The decision to close so many of its garages, it said, was to reduce a “heavy cost base” relating to legacy business systems, ageing garage facilities, and a “complex people structure”.

While maintaining a reduced network in what it described as “strategic locations”, Rivus said that some in the Greater London area will become dedicated to solely providing mission-critical SMR services to the Metropolitan Police Service from November 1.

It is these garages along with the staff employed at those sites which are being transferred to the Met.

A Met Police spokesperson said: “We are aware of the challenges Rivus Fleet Solutions have faced which resulted in the appointment of administrators.

“In the best interest of continuing to deliver a service to Londoners and ensuring frontline officers can access vehicles, the Met have decided to in-source elements of the delivery of the maintenance and repair of our fleet that Rivus were contracted to deliver. 

“We are working with the administrators of Rivus to ensure a smooth transition.

“This decision will ensure continuity of service, protect staff roles, and keep our fleet on the road.”

Headquartered in Birmingham, Rivus Fleet Solutions made around 600 staff redundant last September, when the BT contract was transferred to Holman.