Of course. It's very much 'their' interpretation of events. The 'administrator' seems to like his own publicity too.... 'I own the cars' etc.... Me neither..... It does seem that's the problem though - they haven't been funding it....... Cheers, Ian
What a strange situation to end up in! They bought the team but didn't ensure that all of the shares were signed over in full at the exact same time as they signed the contract ? That has all the hallmarks of buying a car off the internet which the seller states: "at the moment the car is in another Country but as soon as the money is safely in our bank account, then we'll ship the car to you!" - Who falls for that old chestnut? Based on this, I can see that there's room for a Nigerian Prince to come in and offer some financial help to the buyers that should solve all their problems! (What could go wrong? ). That team statement reads to Me as a bit of a desperate, "blame everyone else bar ourselves for the mess we're in" affair! The strange thing is, these people came in, bought the team, then tried to off-load a large number of the workforce, claiming that the staff were nothing to do with them as they were employed by the previous owners and so could just be fired, and have then tried to claim that parts of the group they bought, are not actually anything to do with the team even though they operate under a similar group name, and operate from the exact same address! Every time a problem crops up with the team, it seems that the owners instant fall back position is: "That's actually nothing to do with us! " Frankly, I think these people are completely out of their depth in F1! - The sad part is, they are going to take a lot of innocent bystanders down with them!
Here's Tony Fernandes' side of the story: Fernandes hits back at 'rubbish' claims | Planet F1 | Formula One News He tweeted: "If you buy something you should pay for it. Quite simple." So, either they're fools for funding a team they don't own, or they're fools for claiming to own a team and demanding the shares when they haven't actually paid for them yet!
Bernie Ecclestone has launched a stinging attack on struggling Caterham saying that it would be better if it left Formula One according to an article in the Sun by Caroline Reid. "I think it's better they go. I don't want people going around with begging bowls," says Ecclestone. Caterham should leave F1 says Ecclestone - Pitpass.com To ease everyone's mind this is in fact not a report lol!
Getting more coverage than pretty much anything else right now.... Latest from Pitpass; I've read it a few times and still can't quite figure it out!; What?...... Never did much trust Kolles; think I've said before, "the seedy underbelly"..... Cheers, Ian Caterham should leave F1 says Ecclestone - Pitpass.com
Ian some Pounds or Euro's late are you lol! Check the previous page. Im amazed the thread police above have not offered you sanction lol!
This is really terrible... Caterham staff locked out of Leafield factory | News | Motorsport.com Actually the whole situation is bad. I don't understand some teams. If you have not the resources don't compete in F1. That's quite simple..
Things are often not that black and white. I remember having read that Schumacher started off his carting career on racing tyres his competitors threw away... Look what he made happen. I am sure especially in a tough sport like F1 there are many such stories. BrawnGP for one...
Sounds like a foolish buyer agreed to purchase from Fernandes et al and then couldn't afford to make the payments. Fernandes et al being smart/having good attorneys prudently maintained control of the asset until it was paid for, likely in a seller-financed deal since the buyer couldn't bring in its own funds. I recently helped a client to the same thing in a seller-financed deal. Buyer wouldn't make the payments, so seller got to keep the company.
Inside Caterham's factory Main gallery | Photos | Motorsport.com @Craigy you have a point and i agree with you. But if you are running a team, the first thing you have to do is to see what recourses you have, your investment etc. The most common mistake the most team buyers do is that, they think when they buy the team that it is very easy to run and keep things steady.. Well....that doesn't work..
Seems Bernie may be getting involved after all. From the Motorsport article linked above; Should he bail them out and they make the plane at the weekend it'll be interesting to see who's running the show; the same article claims Ravetto is out & Fernandes is back in charge. What a mess! Good luck to all the employes, Ian
This *is* a new release!...... I'm starting to wonder if they *thought* they'd also purchased 'Caterham Sports Limited' (or whoever it is) that supposedly supplies 1MRT? And then realized that they hadn't..... One hell of a pissing contest, that's for sure! Ian
Life appears to go on no matter! Amazing this situation for the staff. They suffer as others just point fingers.
Tony Fernandes, Caterham Group co-Chairman: In June 2014, I decided, together with my co-shareholders, to sell my stake in the Caterham F1 team. We agreed in good faith to sell the shares to a Swiss company named 'Engavest' on the basis that Engavest undertook to pay all of the existing and future creditors, including the staff. The continued payment of staff and creditors was so important to me that I ensured that the shares would not be transferred to the new buyers unless they complied with this condition. Sadly, Engavest has failed to comply with any of the conditions in the agreement and Caterham Sports Ltd (the UK operating company of the F1 team) has had to be put into administration by the bank, with large sums owing to numerous creditors. Our agreement with Engavest was very clear: there was no legal obligation to transfer the shares to them unless certain conditions - which included paying creditors - were met. Those conditions have not been met. Our lawyers have asked Engavest several times to comply with these conditions but they have failed to engage. If you agree to buy a business, you must pay its bills. They have breached that promise and now, sadly, it is others such as the employees and the fans of the Caterham F1 team that will suffer if the team ceases to race. I sincerely hope that this will not be the case and that a solution can be found. Graham Macdonald, Caterham Group CEO: We genuinely believed, at the time, that the sale of the team was the best route for the staff and creditors of the Company, as we felt it secured its long term future. The whole agreement with Engavest was based around a low consideration for the business, with easy payment terms so that creditors and staff could be paid. The buyers were made fully aware at the time of all outstanding liabilities. However, it appears to me that they never had any intention of paying these liabilities. I go on to question how anyone who was interested in the long term future of the business would appoint one of their cleaners Constantin Cojocar as the sole director and shareholder of the UK operating Company? We continue to see claims and counter claims from the F1 team which are totally unfounded. Not only have they failed to pay the creditors (and have even left our shareholders to pay some of the creditors on their behalf), but they have failed to pay us anything for use of our factory and site, or anything for the use our brand name. In short the new owners have paid us nothing and now the administrators have been appointed they want to walk away from their liabilities.
Caterham collapse 'better' for F1 - Ecclestone Caterham collapse 'better' for F1 - Ecclestone | News | Motorsport.com
For those that read German or can operate google translate : ) Here is an interview with Colin Kolles. He seems very very pissed off. He essentially, throughout the interview, blames Fernandes for very foul play... Interview mit Colin Kolles: "Wurden für dumm verkauft" - Formel1.de-F1-News
There was a time when Bernie thought it was imperative to bring new teams to have a full grid. These says, he thinks that 3-car teams and customer cars could achieve the same. I call that being pragmatic.
I prefer customer teams but three car teams will make for a healthier sport than no hopers. Either way Bernie looks after the business not the sport. If its good for business it gets done. Not a sentimental sort.
