Former Peugeot scooter importer and distributor Mewa Distribution (UK) has been forced into liquidation by its creditors. This company was appointed initially to take over the role in 2020 by Peugeot Motorcycles international sales manager Thierry Sanseigne, after Peugeot’s long-term UK partner Three Cross Motorcycles went bust.
Both previously veteran Three Cross staffers, Paul Hill and Peter Scott, were recruited as national sales manager and aftersales and warranty manager. Mewa Distribution’s general manager Julio Shah ran the operation, which undertook to maintain unaltered trading terms for dealers, with inventory finance through DF Capital.
However, the relationship between Mewa and Peugeot began to unravel. In February 2022, Julio Shah was briefly elevated to become a director of Mewa, alongside his general manager duties. But he resigned just a few weeks later. And then, a newly formed company, Scooter Sense (UK), headed up by Richard Kelly and Steve Reynolds, took over as the official Peugeot scooter distributor in July 2022.
Mewa Distribution collapsed in March 2023 when insolvency practitioners Chris Newell and Nicholas Simmonds of Watford-based Quantuma Advisory were brought in to liquidate the business. According to their filings at Companies House, Mewa’s preferential creditors are owed a total of £558,719, comprising a £474,739 VAT debt plus £83,980 in unpaid PAYE taxation and NI contributions — with no prospect of funds available for settlement.