Caterham’s doors closed in Leafield
TJ13 was informed this afternoon that Bailiffs and the Police were called to the Leafield site, the home of Caterham F1. The staff were instructed to turn off the servers and leave the premises immediately.
This follows previous visits both last week and this from the Bailiffs, who were seeking on Monday to arrange for the removal of the autoclave. Old Lotus framed shirts were removed from the premises today.
John Iley informed sceptical staff to return as normal tomorrow, when the problems would be ‘ironed out’.
TJ13 reported an emergency meeting of the staff of Caterham was held on Monday, where it was repeated again that the problems the team were facing were due to ‘surprises’ (unpaid bills) left behind by the previous owner Tony Fernandes.
Apparently the Caterham team owe an 8 digit sum to a range of suppliers, mainly Renault and Red Bull for engine and gear box supply.
The 2013 cars were removed from the facility on Monday, though the mainstream media were informed this was to facilitate an F1 demonstration in Jerusalem. One concerned member of staff questioned whether this was in fact true, as show events require the attendance of just one car.
The race team were reportedly fed by other teams during the Singapore GP weekend, though no clear explanation for this has emerged.
Of course, were the Caterham outfit to fold, and a new team lined up to enter Formula One in the future – say offer, 10 pence in the pound for the assets of the company, this would be a most cost effective manner of acquiring the necessary equipment and even Intellectual Property for the 2015 car, to eventually go racing.
The mysterious nature of the new ‘Swiss based Arab’ investors has led those with questioning minds to believe not all was well with the alleged sale of the business by Fernandes before Silverstone.
Caterham Team Principal Manfredi Ravetto asserted at the Singapore GP that the new investors wished to remain anonymous because they had no interest in publicity, just ‘making a profit’. Formula One teams on the brink of collapse and due no monies for next year from FOM – do not fit this profile.
It has been suggested to TJ13 that in fact the formal transfer of the shares in the company which holds the racing license for Caterham F1 was never completed, due to disagreements over whether the debts of the team should be paid up by Fernandes or the new owners.
Should the team be wound up, it is convenient that there is no one publicly to hold to account. Fernandes claims to have sold the business but to whom we do not know.
Meantime, Kolles has been forcing ahead the development of the 2015 car, such that the tub has been designed and is good to go.
UPDATE
Caterham issued the following statement this evening
“There have been unfounded and unsubstantiated rumours concerning actions against 1MRT, the entrant and owner of CaterhamF1.
An action was threatened yesterday against a supplier company to 1MRT. This company is not owned by 1MRT and it has no influence over the entry of CaterhamF1 or the entrant.
Also contrary to uncontrolled rumours, all operations are currently in place at Leafield and the race team is doing its preparation in Japan.”
What Caterham say is technically true and they pulled this same stunt over the staff redundancy claims. The company which holds the racing license is a shell company, and is used for nothing else other than to hold the F1 entrant documents. There were other companies in the Caterham group structure under Fernandes where the factory assets sat along with the liabilities left by Fernandes.
This all adds to the confusion over which company(ies) was/were actually sold by Fernandes, and whether or not that sale of all the Caterham assets and liabilities were completely transferred.
Further, tonight a Croydon based company who are “High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEO’s) have tonight placed the following information on their website.
“By order of The Sheriffs Office, authorised High Court Enforcement Officers, we hereby announce the impending sale of goods seized and removed from a Formula One team.
The goods include but are not limited to:
Caterham F1 test car (2013)
Caterham F1 car parts (due for Japan 2014)
Full size 6 DOF motion platform F1 simulator
Caterham F1 steering wheels
F1 wheels with tyres
High quality drilling & machining equipment
Caterham & Lotus F1 memorabilia
Various pit lane equipment including jacks, pumps and starters
TVs, monitors and other goods and equipment
We can confirm the goods have been removed from the Leafield enforcement address and are in secure storage.
The goods are to be sold by public auction to the highest bidder.
Sale by private treaty may be permissible with leave of the court.
The date and location of the sale are yet to be confirmed but early indications are mid-October at a UK location. Interested parties should
contactauctions@thesheriffsoffice.com to register their interest”.
