Derby-based wholesaler SOS Wholesale, once among the UK’s largest discount delivered suppliers, is in the news again as both former staff and its retired founder reacted following the firm’s collapse.
Mark Beckett, who founded the company in 1996 and later retired as managing director, has publicly criticised the circumstances surrounding the administration.
In a strongly worded LinkedIn post, Beckett alleged that management decisions in recent weeks undermined efforts to rescue or sell the business.
He wrote in a LinkedIn post last week, "In the past 10 days the entire management team resigned, effectively preventing any chance of selling the business to maximise value.
"Was this a deliberate act to move them to their sister company, The Soft Drinks Company (TSDC)? This business was purchased with funds taken from SOS Wholesale in breach of the SPA. It is now proudly promoted as 'debt free'.”
"'Competitive market conditions' and 'upfront payment terms' are cited, but the truth is the business grew in year one. It was only when loan repayments and lack of investment throttled cash flow that things spiralled.
"If you want your car to run, you put fuel in it. If you want your business to succeed, you invest in it. They did neither."
Beckett further raised concerns over wiped CCTV hard drives, shredded documents, and the loss of long-standing supplier relationships as staff shifted across to TSDC.
"What hurts most is not just the collapse of a profitable business but how it has been handled – the broken promises, the hollow pledges, the lack of accountability.
For Beckett, the collapse of SOS Wholesale marks not just the loss of a company, but of a legacy.
“For Steven and me, SOS was more than a business — it was our life’s work, our family’s legacy, and the livelihood of so many good people,” he wrote.
The Derby-based company, which supplied consumer goods to convenience, discount, independent, major multiple and garden centre retailers, fell into administration earlier this month.
The company had struggled with rising input costs and shifting consumer habits that squeezed profitability and cash flow. Interpath Advisory was appointed as administrator.
While about 100 employees have reportedly been made redundant, the collapsed wholesaler's MD Vipin Patara recently joined SOS Wholesale's sister company TSDC as its new MD. She has been serving as director of the company since 2023.
While it was claimed that every member of the SOS Wholesale sales and telesales teams have also joined TSDC, it has emerged recently that more than 30 former employees are pursuing potential legal claims over the redundancy process.
Pearson Solicitors and Financial Advisers is advising staff on whether statutory consultation rules were breached, with a view to seeking protective awards. These awards – separate from statutory redundancy and notice pay – can provide compensation of up to 90 days’ gross pay if procedures were not properly followed.
SOS Wholesale was founded in 1996, and has a warehouse and distribution centre in Derby, as well as a sales team based in Barnsley and staff across all sectors are affected.
Pearson is hoping to help those staff who might be able to make a protective award claim if the correct redundancy procedures were not followed.
If successful staff may be able to claim a protective award, which is compensation of up to 90 days’ gross pay.