Owner of City Link questioned by BIS committee

29 January 2015

Jon Moulton, the founder of City Link’s parent company Better Capital, has been questioned by the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee (BIS) over why the company failed, and what the impact is likely to be.

Staff were told that the company had been placed into administration on Christmas Day, and on New Year’s Eve, 2,356 of City Link’s 2,727 employees were officially made redundant by administrators Ernst & Young. The timing of the news was described as “disgraceful” by RMT general secretary Mick Cash.

Moulton said that “It’s my understanding that [employees] will receive 100% of their overtime,”. He admitted that his decision to invest in City Link had been a mistake, and that it had harmed his reputation.

Anne McKechin MP branded the way the affair was handled as “utterly chaotic”.

The taxpayer will have to foot an estimated £4m bill for staff redundancy payments.