Monday 18th March 2013

Group Lotus PLC winding-up petition - UPDATED

High Court dismisses petition as procedural

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Good news! Lotus has this afternoon confirmed that a winding-up order that was applied for will not result in any further action against the company.

Lotus added in its statement that the winding-up order had been the result of a contractual dispute earlier this year, which had since been resolved amicably. As a result, the court has dismissed the petition.

All of which means we can breathe a sigh of relief as the company looks able to continue its day-to-day business. Our original story is below.

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Group Lotus plc, the organisation which encompasses Lotus Cars, Lotus Motorsport and Lotus Engineering, could be wound up.

Ramifications for the company as yet unclear

An application has been made to the HM Courts and Tribunals Service to that effect. However, while the move could result in the partial or full liquidation of the company, a spokesperson from Lotus told PistonHeads categorically that that won't be the case.

What this will mean in reality for the company, and whether the winding-up application has been made voluntarily by the company or by a creditor, remain unclear at this stage. However, we're expecting a statement from Lotus later today which should clarify matters, and we'll be sure to bring you more on that as we get it.

The Lotus F1 team, a completely seperate entity to the Hethel concern itself, is keen to point out that it will continue to operate as normal.

[993RSGT3]

A winding-up isn't necessarily an insolvency event. It's perfectly possible to wind-up a solvent company, and this is quite often part of a restructuring.

Probably best to wait and hear what, exactly, they are doing, before inferring that they've gone bust....

[simonrockman]

How long before Lotus F1 rename themselves "Enstone".

[saaby93]

Nothing like a good bit of ongoing publicity

[stew-S160]

st

[Ryvita]

What the hell...?

[rijmij99]

well thats just the cayman for the 4c to go up against then

[Blown2CV]

993RSGT3 said:

A winding-up isn't necessarily an insolvency event. It's perfectly possible to wind-up a solvent company, and this is quite often part of a restructuring.

Probably best to wait and hear what, exactly, they are doing, before inferring that they've gone bust....

yea happens all the time. However, stories like this mean that everyone will read the headline and take it as "WTF lotus have gone bust" etc. In 6 posts I've already seen one of these.

[herebebeasties]

Autocar's headline was "Group Lotus Being Liquidated":
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/group-l...

They have now changed it to "Group Lotus spokesman plays down winding-up order".

And this, in a nutshell, is why I hate Autocar.

[Nikolai Petroff]

Good news of course... but the vultures are still circling. That moron Bahar has pretty much finished the company.

[Blown2CV]

Blown2CV said:

993RSGT3 said:

A winding-up isn't necessarily an insolvency event. It's perfectly possible to wind-up a solvent company, and this is quite often part of a restructuring.

Probably best to wait and hear what, exactly, they are doing, before inferring that they've gone bust....

yea happens all the time. However, stories like this mean that everyone will read the headline and take it as "WTF lotus have gone bust" etc. In 6 posts I've already seen one of these.

Sorry 3 posts in 6! Why would they wind the company up before trying to sell it if they were in trouble? They are not in trouble, it's just a legal non-story.

[saaby93]

Nikolai Petroff said:

Good news of course... but the vultures are still circling. That moron Bahar has pretty much finished the company.

Are you a vulture?
Can I claim my £5

[Krikkit]

The Crack Fox said:

herebebeasties said:

Autocar's headline was "Group Lotus Being Liquidated":
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/group-l...

They have now changed it to "Group Lotus spokesman plays down winding-up order".

And this, in a nutshell, is why I hate Autocar.

+1

PH, this story doesn't help anyone, why not wait until later today for some more facts instead of throwing fuel on an Autocar fire ?

Two reasons: 1) breaking news like this relies on having the news ASAP, even if it's incomplete, to make sure your site isn't overlooked 2) They've got a different story from Lotus themselves compared to what Autocar went with, which is worth propagating for now.

[Martian O]

The Crack Fox said:

PH, this story doesn't help anyone, why not wait until later today for some more facts instead of throwing fuel on an Autocar fire ?

Same company - Haymarket!

[MarJay]

According to the autocar article the winding up order was the result of a "petition by a supplier which was settled amicably weeks ago".

So maybe it won't be wound up...

[saaby93]

MarJay said:

According to the autocar article the winding up order was the result of a "petition by a supplier which was settled amicably weeks ago".

So maybe it won't be wound up...

has anyone read page 3 of the other thread?!
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
with a recently renamed title

[James P]

Blown2CV said:

993RSGT3 said:

A winding-up isn't necessarily an insolvency event. It's perfectly possible to wind-up a solvent company, and this is quite often part of a restructuring.

Probably best to wait and hear what, exactly, they are doing, before inferring that they've gone bust....

yea happens all the time. However, stories like this mean that everyone will read the headline and take it as "WTF lotus have gone bust" etc. In 6 posts I've already seen one of these.

Except that this appears to have been a petition brought by a supplier so it would have been an insolvency event. It is possible to wind up a solvent company but a restructuring of that kind is rarely done in Court.

From the updated Autocar article, it seems though that the creditor was disputed and has been resolved. It is now simply necessary for the petition to be heard so that it can be dismissed provided that no one else has joined the petition.

Edit - it is being heard by Registrar Baister - I hope that everyone has got ALL their paperwork in order.

[Andy Zarse]

What was the old Ford marketing strap-line?

"Win on sunday, sell on monday..."

Now it's more like - Win on sunday, declared bankrupt on monday!

[Beefmeister]

herebebeasties said:

Autocar's headline was "Group Lotus Being Liquidated":
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/group-l...

They have now changed it to "Group Lotus spokesman plays down winding-up order".

And this, in a nutshell, is why I hate Autocar.

This. Lots of us reacted to Autocar's original headline, quoted above. The headline was pretty damning before they changed it.

Someone really should get a rocket up their arse in Teddington for that.

[forzaminardi]

Lets hope they didn't fire Danny Behar's PR assistant along with Danny, and so the upcoming news will be as amusing as 'THAT' press release last year...

[Ozzie Osmond]

Applying for a winding-up order is standard practice if you've got a customer who won't pay their bills. In this case it's almost certainly a supplier to Lotus who's got fed up with not being paid.

A company in good health can just shrug these things off as nonsense.
A company which is in difficulties can be heavily embarrassed.

Guess which category Lotus are in?