APE is latest victim of air courier crisis

Air courier wholesaler Asia Pacific Express has collapsed, the latest victim of the downturn in the air courier market and a rising tide of bad debt in the industry. Cashflow problems two months ago forced Asia Pacific to sell 75% of its shares to UAC, a large freight wholesaler based in the US and Australia. UAC has since declined to invest further.
In a statement, Paul Holley, APE MD, said ‘UAC has walked away from its investment and left us to get on with the closure (of the company).‘ He said 2001 was the worst years trading the company had experienced since its formation in 1994. Restructuring after the buyout had brought the company back into trading profit, added HOlley, but cashflow problems caused by unpaid debts and the failure of UAC to invest further meant Asia Pacific Express could not continue without increasing its own debts. A source at another major wholesaler said there had been a 20% increase in failed payments over the last 2 years in the air courier industry, but said the biggest problem in the market was overcapacity.
APE had expanded rapidly over the past 3 years, buying Spanish Courier and IXC International, as well as a 50% stake in Excalibur Internaitonal, and launching new services to Greece, Turkey, Israel and Switzerland. But the company denied it had expanded too quickly. ‘We were given the opportunity to expand and customers wanted to use the services, so we took advantage of those opportunities.‘ said a spokeswoman.