Suffolk firm Magnus Group seeks to appoint administrator

Magnus Group has filed a Notice of Intention to appoint an administrator to the High Court in London.

The date the notice was filed was Friday, November 10.

The company, which has a large base in Great Blakenham, near Ipswich, has been operating since 1973 and has become a huge name in freight services in East Anglia and the rest of the UK.

The business is placed to serve the Port of Felixstowe and benefits from direct road links to the Midlands, the North and London on the A14 and A12.

Olly Magnus, CEO of Magnus Group Ltd (Image: Magnus Group)

The firm's origins date back to when Paul Magnus started a shipping agency in Felixstowe in 1973, which then went on to become Magnus Group.

His son, Olly Magnus, bought into Magnus Group in 2019 following his father's death the previous year.

In an interview with Commercial Motor magazine in 2021, Mr Magnus said he had purchased the family business with his own money and was not "handed it on a plate".

He first became involved with Magnus Group in 2000 at the age of 27, working in an office job.

In his time at the helm, Mr Magnus has overseen a series of changes at the company, including becoming the new sponsor of Portman Road's West Stand – now known as the Magnus Group West Stand.

Mr Magnus won the director of the year award at the Suffolk Business Awards for 2022.

The company also sponsors Suffolk boxer and British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley, who sports Magnus Group's logo on the back of his shorts.

The boxing star grew up in Ipswich.

Fabio Wardley, Suffolk boxing champion, is sponsored by Magnus Group, and features them on the back of his shorts (Image: PA Images)

Magnus Group is also the main sponsor of Suffolk Cricket, signing a three-year deal in February 2022.

One of Magnus Group's biggest clients is thermal insulation manufacturer Celotex Saint-Gobain, which is based at Hadleigh, having signed a five-year contract renewal with the firm back in 2019.

As well as road freight, Magnus Group is also involved in air freight, warehousing and marine insurance for transporting cargo.

A total of 147 employees are currently on the books at Magnus Group, according to the company's website.

The Notice of Intention to appoint an administrator is visible under the Insolvency and Companies List on the HM Courts & Tribunals Public Search & Office Copies website.

Magnus Group sponsor the a stand at Portman Road, the Magnus Group West Stand (Image: Tom Cann)

Ellisons Solicitors, which has premises in Wherstead, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and locations around Essex, is Magnus Group's representative.

Ellisons has been contacted for further comment.

Now a Notice of Intention has been filed at court, an interim moratorium period of 10 business days has been introduced, allowing the directors and administrator to make plans for dealing with the financial decline of the company, and ultimately advert liquidation.

A spokesperson for Magnus Group declined to comment on the matter at this time.

Magnus Group CEO Olly Magnus (left) is pictured with Suffolk Cricket Performance Lead Andy Northcote (right) on the Suffolk Young Cricketers’ tour of Sri Lanka, which part funded by the Magnus Group’s sponsorship of Suffolk Cricket in February 2022 (Image: Nick Garnham)