Followers of Companies House may have noticed in recent days that Lotus Formula 1 Ltd has cleared the debt, believed to be £30 million, which dated back to December 2010 when the then new owners were loaned the money by Snoras Bank, in order to pay off a loan from Renault that they were given to keep the team in business after it was transferred from Renault to Gerard Lopez and Eric Lux. The debt would later be passed on to Proton, the owner of the Lotus brand, in the days when the team was dallying with Dany Bahar, the then boss of Lotus. The security on the loan came in the form of a lien on all the assets and buildings that the team owned. This now clears the way for the sale of the team to go ahead, with renault buying back the operation they gave away at the end of 2009.
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Good news for our racing friends.
Ah Dany Bahar, providing all the letters for ARES in a slightly different order.
There had been a lot of chatter a couple of years ago about Kimi not being paid for his time at Lotus. The number $15M is floating in my head, but I’m not sure? Has this ever been settled Joe? I would imagine if there was a lawsuit over this it would also toss a monkey wrench into the pending sale.
He was paid
Ah, Danny Bahar, currently residing in the “where are they now?” file…
How do you think the supplier creditors will be affected now?
They will wait
Great… but I dont understand
So the deal is definitely going ahead then?
Not yet. This is a step-by-step process. It will all happen after the season ends
If that’s the case, a) are Lotus already developing on the assumption of Renault power in 2016? And b) do they actually have enough budget to have a (decent) car ready for the first test?
Go Enstone go!
Ahhhh Dany… I once had a meeting with a publisher who tried to convince me that Bahar was hard done by. Oh well…
I wonder where Dany is now.
The publisher must have been an idiot. Or was it a well-known organ-grinder’s monkey?
The publisher is indeed an idiot, albeit a very sneaky one.
Joe, did you know said monkey has been publishing articles on he BBC? I complained about a Russian GP puff piece and was told “Thanks for raising these concerns. I can only assure you that BBC journalists, including C******* S***, are well aware of our commitment to impartial reporting. They are expected to put their own political views to one side when carrying out their work for the BBC.
That said, this article was not focused on the political climate concerning Russia and Europe. It forms part of the Business section of the website and was looking at how race organisers in Russia were hoping to fuel tourism”
Pretty astonishing that auntie beeb is too dim to notice when it has been duped!
I do not think that the person in question is working for the Beeb. It sounds very unlikely. Still, I am sure that the Russian immigration authorities will be interested to hear this.
Joe, I’ve been watching this closely as I know some people at the team. My reading of companies house yesterday shows 2 more outstanding charges to the same bank. Any idea what these relate to?
Yes. One is Proton and the other is probably a Malaysian bank
It would appear that things are still going in the right direction which is good for ‘Enstone’ and for F1. Thank you for keeping us updated.
I look forward to hearing more from you about the Red Bull/Honda situation. Is it a CO2 bubble or Mr E heaping more woe on one of his favourite targets.
Good news!
Snoras Bank was caught napping?
A gift from Bernie to keep Renault racing?
Or an anonymous donation from Mr Hijaz possibly? will we see him again in the paddock this weekend? I kind of miss him.
Snoras bank disappeared a long time ago. Bernie had nothing to do with this. There is no Mr Hijaz as far as I remember. Maybe you rethinking of Ijaz. He’s not been around for a year or more.
Wonder if Kimi got the money owed him. Couldn’t understand why he didn’t sue and shut the place dow.
Long ago
Also, even if he hadn’t been paid, being seen as a multimillionaire racing driver attempting to do something which would put many ordinary people out of work – people who in some cases he will know well, isn’t a particularly smart move – irrespective of whether he’d be ‘in the right’.
Sorry that this is not an F1 question or comment, but how does one “follow” Companies House?
I use Companies House, searching company names, and the service to download documents, but have not seen anything that would allow me to keep abreast of developments, either for the site in general, or selected companies.
*Tries to think of an F1 question…*
Joe, are you aware if Kevin Magnussen has a sponsorship package to entice a team, and if so, are you able to say how much it is?
Of all the new or rookie names, he is the one I want to be secured with a 2016 seat, first.
Thank you.
Kevin does not have enough
You have to look at the mortgages and charges against the company. When these disappear, you know the debt is settled.
They are working through them…
Thank you, Chris and Joe.
Thank you Joe
Good news. I am keen to see Renault purchase Lotus and become a full manufacturer/constructor again for the 2016 season and hopefully with a more competitive power unit. I wonder where the £30M or so funds have come from ?
Also wonder how much Renault will actually need to pay to complete the Lotus purchase given the level of remaining debt it will, I assume, be taking on ?
great to see jolyon palmer get the race seat. im sure his dad was able to rustle up a bob or 2, but there is no doubting his talent.
Meanwhile , how about the prospect of a Red Bull Honda Joe? Apparently that is the latest rumour that has begun to circulate among various press outlets including Sky Sports and Autosport.
I think this is a load of rubbish
All due respect to Jolyon Palmer, the fact that Lotus hired him as second driver for next year suggests Grosjean was very right in leaving Enstone, as it suggests the team won’t be going much higher up in 2016, don’t you think?
This is really a good news. Having Renault onboard again is a big news for Formula One. Good to see a lot of people are not going to lose their jobs in UK.
Are Renault really going to buy Lotus? They seem to stall it forever and now Lotus signed Palmer.
Or will 2016 be a transition year for them and they’re just trying to recoup as much money as they can with Maldonado and Palmer?
Yes, but step by step
Dany Bahar – the kiss of death for Lotus F1 as far as I am concerned, so glad that potential disaster imploded around him!
Given Friday’s announcement of Jolyon Palmer as Lotus’s second driver, do you think that this is a signal that the Renault buyout is looking less likely now than it was?
No.
Joe what happens on the engine front if the sale to Renault does not go ahead, have they told Mercedes that they don’t want their engine next year or have Mercedes passed the engine to Manor before the deal with Lotus has been terminated leaving Lotus with a valid contract with Mercedes for engines next year?
It will go ahead.
NO one seems to have asked the simple question who has paid off Proton, so the legal charge was dropped?
Proton would not have dropped the legal charge unless they had something else, just as secure to cover the £30M loan. Nothing also from them back in Malaysia either, given what type of company they are, one would expect an stock exchange announcement of some sorts. Not even any talk about loans for shares, which one would guess needs Board approval back in Malaysia. Yet nothing…..So how does that square up?
No money was paid across in the delay of the court case that HMRC brought against the company, yet the Judge stated he wanted to see some funds, but none appeared…….strange.
Renault isn’t saying much, in fact anything. Looking at their last board meeting, nothing was talked about, so when is the final word been made. I would have thought that if Red Bull used the new improved PU and it proved to be better then maybe a fast track to sorting out Ensotne, yet nothing….very strange.