Monday 17th December 2018

Bloodhound SSC finds buyer

Business and assets have been secured, so the project can continue...

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With all the toing and froing around the Bloodhound project, it's nice to report on some good news as the festive period approaches. In a release issued this morning, FRP Advisory - the Bloodhound administrators - have announced an investor "which will allow the project to continue".

That investor is Yorkshire-based entrepreneur Ian Warhurst, who has purchased the business and assets for an "undisclosed amount". Warhurst owns and runs Melett, described as a company "which manufactures precision-engineered turbochargers and other parts for the automotive industry." Sounds like a good start, doesn't it?

There's no comment from Warhurst yet, the only comment thus far from the Andrew Sheridan of the administration company: "We have been overwhelmed by the passion that clearly exists for Bloodhound and are thrilled that we have been able to secure a buyer who is able to give this inspiring project a future.

"Ian has a strong background in managing highly successful businesses in the automotive engineering sector and he will bring considerable expertise to bear in taking the project forward. He will be outlining his plans for the project in detail early in the New Year."

Which all sounds very encouraging for now, especially given how bleak the situation looked not so long ago. Expect more news in 2019, hopefully with the record attempt back on track and heading for 1,000mph.

[sidesauce]

Victory from the jaws of defeat perhaps? Hmmm...

[akirk]

So - we all need to add Mellet turbochargers to our cars to help

good for him - Yorkshire boss of an automotive engineering company - as long as the funds are there - sounds ideal!

[bobbo89]

Never heard of Melett but a quick Google and it turns out they're only 15 mins away from where I live!

Be interesting to see where they go with this and where they see the value in it...

[MrC986]

It's positive news and the new owner just needs to continue to be able to use the goodwill of the main original sponsors from a technical point of view and to motivate and encourage young people into engineering with the project.

[JMF894]

Good news. Considered Mellet not long ago for a TD-04 19T hybrid rebuild.

[sgtBerbatov]

What are the odds of the new owner bringing in Yorkshire Tea as a sponsor?

[donkmeister]

fk yeah!

[j90gta]

It was widely reported that the project needed £25 Million to achieve its intended aims. I imagine the assets and company were valued at a lot less, and this is all he has bought. Whilst it would seem that Mr. Warhurst is a man of substantial means I doubt he would be willing to bankroll the entire project on his own. It will be interesting to see if he is able to succeed where the existing team have been unable to. I really hope this can be made to work (especially as my son's name is on the tail!), and look forward to further developments.

[only1ian]

We all just googled and so will others who this guy is and read about his company. If he got the assets for £250k as was previously quoted, I’d say for marketing and brand recognition purposes alone, he’s done well out of this investment!

[SpunkyM]

This is great news. Melett are in Barnsley so only a stones throw from me. Must admit I'd never heard of them either until now so just getting their name out there must have some value. Looking at their accounts they 'only' turn over £28m a year with pre tax profit of £5.2m so to take this project to fruition alone doesn't look feasible. They must have some cunning plan / partner in mind going forwards. You would hope.

Company total net worth was:

£16.5m (2015)
£15m (2016)
£19m (2017)

They also have an office in Memphis, USA and Poland but I'm not clear if they are just distribution channels. I have no figures for their international operations.

Edited by SpunkyM on Monday 17th December 13:23

Edited by SpunkyM on Monday 17th December 13:24

[The Surveyor]

SpunkyM said:

This is great news. Melett are in Barnsley so only a stones throw from me. Must admit I'd never heard of them either until now so just getting their name out there must have some value. Looking at their accounts they 'only' turn over £28m a year with pre tax profit of £5.2m so to take this project to fruition alone doesn't look feasible. They must have some cunning plan / partner in mind going forwards. You would hope.

Company total net worth was:

£16.5m (2015)
£15m (2016)
£19m (2017)

They also have an office in Memphis, USA and Poland but I'm not clear if they are just distribution channels. I have no figures for their international operations.

The article suggests the project was bought by Ian Warhurst rather than by his company.

[SpunkyM]

The Surveyor said:

The article suggests the project was bought by Ian Warhurst rather than by his company.

Good point! In fact Ian Warhurst is not even listed on the board at Companies House for Melett so he may well have other interests which are far more financially significant.

[cookie1600]

The Surveyor said:

The article suggests the project was bought by Ian Warhurst rather than by his company.

He sold Melett to Wabtec Corporation last year but stayed on as MD. Last details I could find (2014) estimated his and his wife's personal fortune was circa £73 million, but I'd take that with a huge pinch of salt.

Only reports on financing say he bought the project for an 'undisclosed sum', so I doubt it was as little as £250k, as that was only the vehicle value not the support structure, ongoing debt, people and property that need to go with it for any kind of running programme.

[tigerkoi]

Melett was sold to Wabtec. Warhurst kept on as a managing director as well as pocketing whatever his share was.

FRP have said the job lot was sold for an undisclosed price. If you’re really pumped at a great deal you tend to announce the numbers. But I suspect this all went for a small % of the original ask, which then implies...what does Bloodhound [b]actually need[/] to do 1000mph and has he got this (and cash) in mind or has he got another plan.

[andymac]

Great news and a Brit as well !

A bit surprised though was not snapped up before ... what a legacy for someone who has the money

[Penguinracer]

If the estimate of £25m to get to 1000 mph was made by the same team which drove this project to self-destruction, I’d take THAT figure with a grain of salt.
A tough, pragmatic business person would find ways of slashing that figure massively.
Go through the books, examine who’s on the gravy-train & enquire what thry’re doing & see what they’re costing. Ask the sponsors to dig a little deeper now that they’ve had a scare & been bailed out.
Slash the payroll, pull in volunteers, get freight & logistics sponsorship & start auctioning volunteering opportunities & that £25m will quickly look like a figure dreamed up by some beneficiary of a bloated, gold-plated project not grounded in commercial reality.

[IN51GHT]

Penguinracer said:

Slash the payroll, pull in volunteers, get freight & logistics sponsorship & start auctioning volunteering opportunities & that £25m will quickly look like a figure dreamed up by some beneficiary of a bloated, gold-plated project not grounded in commercial reality.

The only issue with doing that is the wealth of knowledge that a very small number of the team (past & current) have, much of which is required to run the car safely.

[3.8 MOD]

Penguinracer said:

If the estimate of £25m to get to 1000 mph was made by the same team which drove this project to self-destruction, I’d take THAT figure with a grain of salt.
A tough, pragmatic business person would find ways of slashing that figure massively.
Go through the books, examine who’s on the gravy-train & enquire what thry’re doing & see what they’re costing. Ask the sponsors to dig a little deeper now that they’ve had a scare & been bailed out.
Slash the payroll, pull in volunteers, get freight & logistics sponsorship & start auctioning volunteering opportunities & that £25m will quickly look like a figure dreamed up by some beneficiary of a bloated, gold-plated project not grounded in commercial reality.

Well, I'm so glad you got that off your chest.
Uninformed, uneducated and angry is how I would describe your post.
Do you have any interest at all in the project?

[loudlashadjuster]

Great stuff.

[soad]

loudlashadjuster said:

Great stuff.