From 'Street Talk' (often good) in 'AFR' newspaper on Tuesday 27 February:

Street Talk

KordaMentha takes the keys at Anchorage’s Scott’s Refrigerated

Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson and Kanika Sood

Feb 27, 2023 – 4.54pm

Anchorage Capital Partners-owned Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics has hit the skids, as COVID-19 and flooding cause its turnaround plans to crash.

Scott’s found eleventh-hour funding to keep its trucks running while Anchorage and lenders work through the nitty-gritty of the VA and receivership.

The Sydney PE investor, which bought the business from car dealership group Eagers, appointed McGrathNicol as voluntary administrators on Monday after a tense week which included major client Coles stepping in to help pay driver salaries. Scott’s is a big fish in refrigerated logistics and employs about 1500 staff and other contractors.

Scott’s secured creditors - including ScotPac Business Finance and Gordon Brothers - hit back soon after and appointed KordaMentha as the receiver and manager.

Both the administrators and the receivers were brought in late on Monday.

Sources said they would plough through Scott’s books in the coming days to identify the problem and the way ahead.

The crash has been some time coming - and the company’s already found short-term funding to keep the network operational. Scott’s big customers, including supermarkets group Coles, were understood to have been watching closely, and were keen to see its trucks remain on the roads Tuesday morning to keep grocery shelves stacked.

The near-term plan will see KordaMentha’s Scott Langdon try to find a new owner. The business is expected to attract a look from Scott’s supermarket clients like Coles, other trucking businesses like Lindsay Australia and even logistics players Toll Group and Qube.

Whether they could make a transaction stack up remains to be seen.