ONE of the oldest businesses in the Forest has made the shock announcement that it will be closing in the next few weeks.

Family firm Richard Read (Transport) Ltd in Longhope has been trading for 73 years, but the wheels on its fleet of haulage lorries will stop turning at the end of this month.

A statement by the company released at midday last Wednesday (March 13) blamed disappointing financial results in 2018 due to “shrinking margins and a rising overhead” on its decision to shut.

It said: “It is with a heavy heart we announce that Richard Read (Transport) Ltd is to cease trading.

“During the last 18 months we have made valiant efforts to restructure the business and focus attentions on our core activities of transport and pallet network services.

“We have been successful in growing our customer base, boosting volumes and increasing sales. Unfortunately, the financial results of trading in 2018 have been very disappointing largely due to shrinking margins and a rising overhead.

“Despite the positive growth, it remains a constant battle to be competitive whilst at the same time running decent trucks, attract and keep a skilled workforce and remain compliant with all legislative requirements of the haulage industry.

“Our forecasts for 2019 show a similar picture and we are unable to upscale the business sufficiently to dilute our overhead.

“We would like to make clear that we are not in administration and are not insolvent. The decision is based on a very real understanding of our business and the marketplace and a strong desire to exit while we are ahead.

“There are no words to fully define our gratitude to the people that have made this company what it is since its founding.

“It has been so much more than a job for many people; a community and a way of life for many.

“Our employees both past and present have always been our finest asset and will have much to offer their new employers as they further their careers.

“Our website will be taken down in due course, however our Facebook page will remain live and will hopefully be a place where photos and stories from 73 years of business can be exchanged.

“The wheels will stop turning here at Longhope at the end of March although the final day of trading will depend on work in progress and specific arrangements known nearer the time.

“Our commercial MOT lane (ATF) will continue to operate until at least the end of May.

“We send our thanks and appreciation to all of our customers and suppliers who have supported us over the years.

“Our wishes of good health and prosperity go out to all of you especially those trading in our beloved Forest of Dean.”

Founded by Richard Read and his wife Amelia in 1946, they bought their first truck for £350 which was used to haul stone to build the Gloucester Ring Road, and their trucks went on to become some of the most recognisable in the country.

Richard’s business was influenced by the success of his father who had been hauling since 1913, and when he returned from the Royal Navy after the Second World War, he launched his own business.

In 1959, the relationship between British truck manufacturer ERF and Richard Read came into being when they bought their first articulated tractor unit, and during the 1960s Richard and Amelia ran a fleet of 87 vehicles.

As well as general haulage, the firm provided warehousing, with 146,000sq ft of storage space across two sites in Cinderford and Longhope.

It also developed a heavy vehicle recovery service, as well as an ATF facility and Richard Read Commercials, a MAN truck sales, parts and service centre.

Hundreds of tributes from family, friends and former employees were paid to Richard, who had five children with Amelia, when he died in 2014 aged 89, just months after his wife’s passing.

Mr Read was carried to the church on the back of the first ERF ever built – ERF 1, which the famly described as “a fitting tribute for a man who was ERF through and through."

Son Richard Junior said at the time: "Dad was not only a very successful businessman but a much-loved father, grandfather and great grandfather and his family will miss him dreadfully.”

Daughter-in-law Kay, who continued to run the business with her husband and her sister-in-law Brenda Herring, added: “Those who knew Richard will tell you he was never afraid of making an investment in a new venture, and it was at the end of the 1970s that he built his first warehouse on his six-acre site at Longhope."