U-Haul of West Virginia filed for voluntary Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
The company serves do-it-yourself moving and self-storage customers in West Virginia and small parts of Kentucky, Virginia and Ohio. The company, which was incorporated in West Virginia in 1970 and has operated continuously in the state for the last 52 years, has faced numerous challenges in recent years, including management turnover, a lack of sufficient self-storage locations and burdensome litigation costs resulting in declining cash flow and liquidity.
The company plans to continue business without interruption, and U-Haul customers are not expected to be impacted by this action. The company filed motions with the bankruptcy court seeking to continue operations in the ordinary course, including meeting commitments to customers, paying team members and continuing existing employee benefit programs. Twelve company-operated stores and 123 independent U-Haul dealers in West Virginia will continue operations.
The Chapter 11 filing and anticipated restructuring transaction are the final steps in the company’s internal restructuring that began in 2020 with a renewed commitment to expanding company locations in West Virginia and the appointment of Mark Arnold as president. Earlier attempts to implement a business and financial reorganization were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is a sad day for a very proud company,” Arnold said. “This appears on balance to be the best way to continue to serve the needs of moving customers and to see that suppliers and team members get paid.”
The company and U-Haul International are negotiating the terms of a plan of reorganization that is expected to include a substantial “new value” capital infusion by U-Haul International.
