Tue, 14 Jun 2022 | ADMINISTRATION
Westfield Sports Cars, a Kingswinford-based company that produces kit cars and self-driving vehicles, has fallen into administration, with buyers now being sought for the company’s assets. The company entered administration last week along with subsidiaries Chesil, a producer of replica Porsche 356 Speedsters, and self-driving vehicle maker Westfield Autonomous Vehicles.
Westfield Sports Cars was founded in 1983, originally producing two-seater kit cars in an attempt to compete with Caterham. The company went on to build further ranges of models, often inspired by the Lotus Seven sports car, and, since its founding, has sold more than 13,000 vehicles across the world.
In 2019, the company expanded with the acquisition of Chesil, while it has also become a pioneer in the self-driving vehicle space with Westfield Autonomous Vehicles, which produces driverless electric pods used to transport passengers at Heathrow Airport. Prior to its collapse, the firm had also been in the process of trialling a new self-driving road sweeper.
Mark Bowen of MB Insolvency was appointed as administrator to the businesses on June 9, with the company having ceased trading the previous day. Westfield Sports Cars’ parent companies, Westfield Technology Group and Potenza Enterprises Ltd, are not thought to be affected by the administration.
Speaking to the local media, administrator Mark Bowen said that there had already been an “encouraging level of interest shown in the company’s remaining assets”. Mr Bowen added that MB Insolvency were “liaising with a number of parties at the moment to see if anybody is interested in the assets and possibly trying to resurrect something here.”
In its accounts for the year ending December 31 2021, Westfield Sports Cars reported fixed assets of close to £750,000 and current assets of slightly over £4 million. Less liabilities, the company’s net assets amounted to £1.179 million. Westfield Autonomous Vehicles, meanwhile, reported total assets of £1.4 million in its most recent accounts, but ended 2021 with net liabilities of close to £316,000.
Despite the company’s demise, the assets set to be sold could represent a major opportunity for the right buyer, given their strong offering in the emerging self-driving electric vehicles sector and the niche kit car market.
You can read more about the factors spurring M&A in the automotive sector in this insight.
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