dhutch Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 Huge news, and very sad for the people caught up in it, as well as the brand in general. I didn't know or realised they where facing trouble. As said, hopefully a buyer can be found for what can hopefully produce cars and or kits again. Else as said, I certainly think the club should have a spokesperson to establish contact with the administrators, to ensure that should the worse happen, the records. Sales/vin logs, and drawings, are not lost forever. I expect their would be interest and value in the moulds and jigs as said. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyj007 Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 how on earth can a company go to stoneleigh and take deposits knowing they were in debt and possible on the edge about to fold? they had a nice little company there.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Baker Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 3 minutes ago, andyj007 said: how on earth can a company go to stoneleigh and take deposits knowing they were in debt and possible on the edge about to fold? they had a nice little company there.. I was thinking exactly the same. I ordered parts from Westfield, spoke to them over the phone and got parts delivered on Monday, not that high value but feel like I dodged a bit of a bullet. Feel sorry for those that have just sunk some proper money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peteroconnor Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 5 minutes ago, andyj007 said: how on earth can a company go to stoneleigh and take deposits knowing they were in debt and possible on the edge about to fold? they had a nice little company there.. I hear you but that is often how firms stay afloat for slightly longer. If they have a healthyish order book it helps stave off the banks and administrators but in most cases it’s just extending the inveitable sad news indeed but an overly complex business model and high costs have meant it’s not sustainable to operate going forward hope the staff find something after and receive some monies but I feel that is unlikely considering the companies financial position Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan France Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 24 minutes ago, andyj007 said: how on earth can a company go to stoneleigh and take deposits knowing they were in debt and possible on the edge about to fold? they had a nice little company there.. Only a few people may have known the true financial position and those that did may have believed good sales at Stoneleigh could have kept them going. We just don’t know. It’s pretty certain that the administrators will know the value of moulds, jigs and drawings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan France Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 Potenza Enterprises accounts show they were owed just over £2m in Oct 21 by Westfield, down slightly from Oct 20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Loudon - Sponsorship Liaison Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 Very sad especially as its in the 40th anniversary of the first car. Gutted for all the hard workers at the factory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stanton Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 9 minutes ago, Alan France said: Potenza Enterprises accounts show they were owed just over £2m in Oct 21 by Westfield, down slightly from Oct 20. The cynic in me recalls that this is often the case went companies are put into administration ....... that a separate company and/or individuals are often the biggest creditors ..... sad times, I suppose they have to protect their own interests and not worry too much about those made redundant and how their rent and bills will be paid ...... I feel so sorry for all those made redundant, they have some excellent skills which will hopefully be picked up by others. I really do like the idea of the WSCC getting in touch with the administrators to perhaps become archivists of any technical drawings, patterns etc. There are a lot of cars out there and owners who have a passion and understanding for the marque to ensure spare parts and support are available. Scott you have my number if I can be of any help Good Luck to all the WSC factory team and supply chain in finding new work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Jones Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 Sad news, although hopefully the sports car side at least is a sustainable business that could be bought and successful again going forward. Feel for all the employees who it seems most had very little warning. This did remind me of a recent experience when I ended up buying fuel pump connector boots from Delorean Go. I'm sure this is a huge amount of work but this is a commercial proposition linked to the owners club and a really good website and parts offering, something similar could well work if not bought as a going concern? https://www.deloreango.com/uk/about/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Turner - Black Country AO Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 1 hour ago, Alan France said: Potenza Enterprises accounts show they were owed just over £2m in Oct 21 by Westfield, down slightly from Oct 20. Potenza Enterprises and Westfield Sports Cars Ltd have the same base set of directors. It all starts to get very murky when you've effectively got companies within companies all run/owned by the same set of people and an inner company goes bang supposedly owing and outer company lots of money. But on a less suspicious note it may well have been as simple as the the hike in energy prices filtering through and making the company nonviable, for them personally and via the supply chain. If so I suspect this is not the first nor will it be the last to fail due to these problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Reid Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 1 minute ago, Rhett Turner - Black Country AO said: Potenza Enterprises and Westfield Sports Cars Ltd have the same base set of directors. This is a good point. Most of us see WSC but it could be one of the other parts of the business which made the house of cards topple: Chesil GTM Autonomous pods Electrification projects (seen in both Chesil and Westfields) Expansion into the far East Etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanHodge Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 9 hours ago, dhutch said: Else as said, I certainly think the club should have a spokesperson to establish contact with the administrators, to ensure that should the worse happen, the records. Sales/vin logs, and drawings, are not lost forever. Daniel 100% agree with this comment, The company I worked at went into administration and we found the administrator to be really helpful in passing over drawings materials tooling etc. sometimes its easier for them to " sell on " items rather than list them on their bankrupt stock auction site and move them all to auction site premises. The contents of the filing cabinets drawing etc went into a skip for shredding ! They wont want inundating with request for stuff from all and sundry, so maybe one club spokesperson would be very helpful. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 The taxman is top of the pile when it comes to creditors, and the HMRC are well known for initiating liquidation if they don't think they will be paid. As Scott pointed out much earlier in this thread, their cash position was weak, and when creditors are banging on the door it butters no parsnips to show that there's ample assets when they are not realisable assets in short order. No doubt the fundamental reason for the collapse will emerge in time. In my business experience in the hard times of the 1980s, the firm with the swish (rented) offices and a line of (leased) BMWs in the directors car park is not the one you should extend credit to - go through an intermediate wholesaler if possible. It's the firm with a threadbare carpet and grubby sofa in reception owned and run by a family living in a modest house that know where the money should be that survives longest. From a distance it is hard to see any of the classic warning bells in this case, but the general business climate is very trying currently, and non-essential purchases are the first to go of course. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Mark (smokey mow) Posted June 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 10, 2022 1 hour ago, Mark Stanton said: I feel so sorry for all those made redundant, they have some excellent skills which will hopefully be picked up by others. I really do like the idea of the WSCC getting in touch with the administrators to perhaps become archivists of any technical drawings, patterns etc. There are a lot of cars out there and owners who have a passion and understanding for the marque to ensure spare parts and support are available. Scott you have my number if I can be of any help Good Luck to all the WSC factory team and supply chain in finding new work I agree Mark and in these early stages I feel it would be beneficial for the WSCC to open communications with the administrator if only to make them aware of our existence at this time but likewise to gain an insight into the direction of things in the future and whether there would be opportunities for the club to acquire certain assets from them if a buyer isn’t found. @Scott Young (Captain Colonial) - Club Secretary @Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman you likewise have my number and if you find in the future that there is a need for an archivist within the club I’d be happy to step up and help. To a certain extent but on a much smaller scale I’ve already been through similar when I acquired The rights etc to my JW4 racing cars so know what could be involved in documenting and recording records. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark E Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 What bad news - sorry for the staff. I'm mid-build unfortunately, and even more unfortunately owed the ECU and ITBs! I just joined this club, so i hope i can draw on the 'community' to help to get my car finished.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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