“The Downward Spiral of SOS – A Personal Account”

The  Truth, The Whole Truth

 and nothing but The Truth

 Without prejudice

Well, what a sad week that was.

It was a shock to write one eulogy earlier this year after losing our father, our role model, who Steven and I are so grateful to for passing down his work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit. Now, almost unbelievably, here I am again writing another “eulogy”, the second cutting event of this year.

For months, the signs were there: late payments to suppliers, customers complaining about unfulfilled orders, sales teams left with little to sell.

Over the past few days, I have found myself reminiscing about day one in March 1996: Dad and I at the Fruit Market, daily afternoon trips to Morris & Son in Leeds (Stephen Jacobs, my inspiration), sleeping overnight at the warehouse because it was too late to go home, working alongside my brother and best friend Steven, flying the SOS flag abroad, and sharing the journey with so many loyal employees and good friends.

It was not an easy decision to sell SOS Wholesale. We did so with one proviso: that the new owners must carry the same family values we had always lived by. We were assured that was the case. Sadly, reality proved otherwise.

I know the former MD tried her best to maintain SOS despite the financial challenges and despite her pleas for financial assistance — they went unheard until it was too late.

Since then:

• Resignations. The auditors resigned in January — is that an everyday occurrence in a healthy business? In the past 10 days, the entire management team also resigned, actions which effectively prevented any chance of selling the business and maximising value through administration.

Was this a deliberate act to ensure customers were transferred to their sister company, The Soft Drinks Company? That business was, as confirmed by documents and the SPA, purchased with funds taken from SOS Wholesale. They now boast that it is “debt free” and claim they want to support customers. In truth, this appears to minimise collateral damage for themselves.

One supplier messaged me: “The owners must be very confident (wrongly in my opinion) that suppliers owed money would happily supply the new combined venture?” In light of so many group irregularities, it would make a good Panorama program!

• Behaviour. A phrase we have heard repeatedly from professionals over the past week: “We have never met anyone with his unique behaviour before.”

• Track record. This is not the first time. Worcester Electrical, Ancient House Press (https://www.printweek.com/content/news/judge-grants-multimillion-pound-freezing-order-against-ancient-house-press-investors/), many others — and now SOS. A leopard does not change its spots.

• Accountability. And let us not forget, not every company or conglomerate owner is served with a Worldwide Freezing Order. That fact alone speaks volumes.

• Excuses & Reality Perhaps the most frustrating part is the excuses. We hear claims about “competitive market conditions,” “the need for upfront payments,” or “a challenging retail environment.”

The reality? They grew the business in the first 12 months, but their massive loan repayments and lack of investment throttled it, starved it, and strangled cash flow.

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.

• Puzzling activity. In recent days, things have raised serious questions:

·        CCTV hard drives coincidentally disconnected, storage wiped, and cables pulled. An unusual amount of shredded paper lying around — what was being hidden?

(At SOS we used to buy job lot stock, but has someone now bought a job lot of hamsters?)

·        15 barcode scanning guns used for stock picking delivered to Sheffield.( 10 now and 5 eighteen months ago)- they may have sold them to TSDC!

·       

·      An ex-colleague even reported being warned that disclosing what he had seen would be a sackable offence — but really, sackable from where?

• Our legacy. Last week, SOS entered administration. Our legacy destroyed.

What hurts most is not just the collapse of a profitable, well-loved business, but the way in which it has been handled, the broken promises, the lack of accountability, the hollow pledges.

For Steven and me, this is not just business; it was our life’s work, our family’s legacy, the dedication of many, many loyal team members who became friends for life, and the livelihood of so many good people.

Over the past week we have been touched by many kind words:

• “It would not have happened under yours and Steven’s ownership.”
• “How can some people sleep at night?”
• “SOS did not last long after your strong leadership.”
• “What a shame. It must be so sad after you all worked so hard to build it up.”

To those colleagues, customers, and suppliers who have reached out with messages of support, we thank you sincerely. Your words mean more than you know.

There is little chance of resurrecting the business. Apparently, the name, intellectual property rights, and customer and supplier lists are available for sale — but the key staff, who would have given context and who had built priceless relationships with customers and suppliers, are now coincidentally placed at TSDC.

• Missed Opportunities. Another sad moment that could have been positive — a chance to rise from the ashes, to carry on, not just to salvage our legacy but to support the many loyal customers who valued what SOS once offered: the unique range of goods, the excellent service.

• Reflections.

Anyone that knows me will be surprised I am not sat in McDonalds or Starbucks writing this (it was my go to place, headphones on, Smooth Radio playing, no distractions). It is 4am though, and my mind will not rest until I have completed my account of the downward spiral of SOS.

I recall one remote meeting with the former owner, August 2024. He mentioned that he had to honour a PG and had to forfeit so much personally — I said, “I think that’s the point of a PG.”

They will say Novuna (the funding provider) or Interpath were harsh, but the truth is they had many warnings to ensure funds were kept in the business. But he knew best.

Allegedly the funds were there — but too little, too late.

When Interpath were brought in, he was too busy acquiring or trying to acquire more companies. Some of the attempted acquisitions saw through him and walked away. He has a habit of tying everyone up with NDAs, preventing prospective company owners from reaching out for references.

I had calls from the previous MD asking, “How can I make him listen? I need money.” I said, “Turn up on his doorstep.” She replied, “He will just replace me.”

Over the past 12 months, I have had calls from the previous MD, from staff, and messages from suppliers asking whether we had thought about buying it back. Steven and I have worked tirelessly all our lives. The former owner was barely out of nappies. He only visited once — some companies he bought, he never visited at all.

Perhaps that is why — if you never build a personal connection, it becomes easier to make decisions that hurt others.

When we met the former owner he said to Roy, Steven, and myself, “I will invest £2 million when I buy it.” What a shame this never happened. Sales grew in the first year; where would they be now if he had? By now, he would have been debt free as they say they are with TSDC, and well on his way to boasting about a $1 billion turnover — his only goal.

Why dollars and not pounds? Because it sounds better. Like playing Monopoly. Such a shame there was no “do not pass go card ”  you know the rest of the phrase.

What he did not realise is that in his game, he was gambling with people’s livelihoods. Many went to work because they loved it, they loved the cause, the social connection.

Fortunately, the government will not leave them short and they will receive redundancy pay. But for many, whether they were there 10, 20, or almost 30 years, it was a major part of their life. And now it is gone.

All because his promises turned out to be hollow.

Please share this account if you wish. These words are written to set the record straight for colleagues, customers, and suppliers who deserve to know what really happened

PS:

I forgot to mention that the business sales process conducted by Dains, specifically Roy Farmer, was absolutely faultless.

Not just in the preparation of the IM (Information Memorandum — which was no mean feat), but in his understanding of what SOS really was. SOS was not just profitable — it was complex. I often referred to it as a 5,000-piece jigsaw: 5,000 product lines, over 100 staff, and every single customer having their own unique core range of products.

This complexity was part of what made SOS special. Yes, the business was simplified after the sale, but every customer relied on us for our breadth of range and the ease of ordering — especially our larger export customers.

Roy embraced this complexity. He understood it. Sadly, the new owner only looked at EBITDA.

Roy has been an absolute rock over the past four years. If you have any thoughts about selling your business, I could not recommend him highly enough. Reach out to him here:  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/royfarmer?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app