VMS Fleet Management, a UK contract hire and fleet management company operating around 6,570 vehicles, has entered administration after 24 years in business, with 136 staff made redundant.
The company, which provided vehicles, vehicle maintenance and refrigeration services across the country, will now be wound down after unsuccessful attempts to find a buyer. Its vehicles were used by major clients including Iceland.
The decision to place the company into administration followed a winding-up petition being served on the firm.
Administrators Appointed
Jeremy Karr, Simon Killick and Joanne Louise Hammond of BTG Begbies Traynor LLP were appointed administrators on Tuesday, October 20, according to The Gazette.
The appointment was made after a winding-up petition was served on the company by Barclays Bank last week. Fleet News reported that a winding-up petition had also been lodged against the firm by HMRC on September 9, which was due to be heard later this month.
VMS has since shared the administration notice on its website. In total, 136 members of staff have been made redundant, while 24 staff have been kept on to assist with the administration process, according to Fleet News.
Sale Attempts Fail
Administrators initially tried to sell the business as a going concern, but BTG said that no offers for the business were successful. The decision was subsequently taken to appoint joint administrators to carry out a controlled wind down of the business.
Jeremy Karr of BTG Begbies Traynor LLP told Fleet News: "We begin a controlled wind down of the business, our immediate priority is to manage the unavoidable redundancies and associated employee claims, secure physical assets, pursue debtor recoveries and begin investigations into the asset position and the conduct of the business to realise value and deliver the best outcome for creditors."
The administrators said the firm had faced difficulties with an invoice finance facility with Barclays Bank. Karr continued: "BTG was approached by the bank as the qualifying floating charge holder of VMS Fleet Management and introduced to the company to provide options advice after it had experienced a series of financial challenges.
"As a sale of the business as a going concern was not able to be achieved, the directors invited the bank to appoint us as joint administrators."
Wider Insolvency Trends
According to the most recent official figures, 182 businesses entered administration in August, a 60% increase on August 2025. The average monthly number of administrations in the first eight months of 2026 was 36% higher than the 2025 monthly average.
Official public record of insolvencies, The Gazette, says this was driven by higher numbers between March and August 2026, when more than 250 connected companies in the real estate sector entered administration. BTG Begbies Traynor LLP and VMS Fleet Management have been contacted for comment.
