Trucking company XL Express goes into liquidation with $41.9m debt
A national trucking company has gone into liquidation with more than $40m in debts, after it began selling off its 193-strong fleet, stood down 200 employees and was locked out of a site.
A national trucking group has gone into liquidation with more than $40 million in estimated debts, after it sold off its 193-strong fleet, stood down 200 employees and was locked out of a site.
A new report sheds light on how XL Express, a transport and logistics company which had delivered across the country for 35 years, suffered years of big losses before shutting abruptly and going into voluntary administration in late June.
The group’s 200 employees were stood down after XL Express was locked out of its Smithfield premises in Western Sydney in late June, due to rent not being paid, according to its administrators.
A notice yesterday confirmed creditors had voted to wind up 17 associated companies under the XL Express group.
A report from the administrators estimated there were up to $41.9 million in total debts across the XL Express companies, including $5.3 million owed to 200 former employees and $3.4 million owed to the Australian Taxation Office.
Secured creditors and business lenders, including NAB, Judo Bank and ScotPac had the largest bundle of debts, totalling an estimated $18.9 million, the report from administrators Kelly-Anne Trenfield, Ross Blakely and Joanne Dunn of FTI Consulting said.
Other unsecured creditors were owed an estimated $12.4 million.
The group had engaged Manheim Auctioneers to begin selling off its fleet of 193 vehicles before it went into administration.
The administrators flagged they were also aware of multiple injury compensation claims from employees, although they were still being processed by insurers.
The XL group had incurred millions of dollars in net losses from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 financial years.
For the year to March, it had suffered a $4.2 million loss and revenue had almost halved from two years before, down to $27.7 million.
The companies also had difficulties around cash flow, but had not been successful in securing further funding to pay down their debts, the report said.
The administrators warned the companies were likely insolvent from at least January 2023.
XL Express started in Brisbane in 1990.
In 2019, it bought Sydney third-party logistics provider TL Distribution.
It had multiple depots and facilities, across Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin, as well as regional sites in Newcastle, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns.
The expected returns for creditors under the liquidation were unknown in the administrators’ report.
News Corp has contacted XL express managing director Colin Mallory, who was also the director of each of the related entities, for comment.
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Originally published as Trucking company XL Express goes into liquidation with $41.9m debt
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