RF Update 5-8-06, Final Creditors Report

Ron Earp

Admin
So what is the latest news? I know some folks have some information on the ground in Australia, what is happening?
 
Ron,
Haven’t heard a thing only that it should be in the hands of the highest bidder by now. I do know who bought it, perhaps they should say hi and introduce themselves if they want.

Steve
 

Ross Nicol

GT40s Supporter
Ron
Check the Roaring Forties website, no names yet but the address and phone number are there. Heidleberg is a long way from Dromana.Word is the sale has gone through to some young engineers and the moulds are on the way back from South Africa.Damned if I can remember their names though.
I'll post more as it comes to hand.
Ross
 

Fran Hall RCR

GT40s Sponsor
I found out this evening that the South African jigs and moulds were NOT included in the RF Australia deal...the SA company is in liquidaton and as such all assets/financial commodities are in the hands of the administrator although I hear the certain parties are interested in acquiring the assets....just an FYI....
 

HILLY

Supporter
Ross seems to be on the money. Not sure about the SA bits though. Word is that an announcement / introduction will be made when the relocation is complete which will allow for enquiries and other business matters to be managed correctly. No other info is known at this time.


 

Peter Delaney

GT40s Supporter
I think a bloke by the name of Paul Bottomly is one of the new owners. Apparently, he is a engineer & did a lot of the design work for RL.

Kind Regards,

Peter D.
 

Trevor Booth

Lifetime Supporter
Supporter
You are correct Fran, the stuff in SA was not included in the Aussie deal. There is a deal of "who owned what" going on re the SA stuff. It will be dripping off the walls for a while to come.
Trevor
 

Ron Earp

Admin
Might be time to split this off to another thread. Owen, if you wish to annouce the company on another thread that might be a good idea. This thread needs to stay the course with respect to the former RF company and not become entangled. Thread split and placed into manufactuer's annoucements.
 
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Ron Earp

Admin
nota2266 said:
In time the administrator will reveal all, until then speculation is not warranted.

Trevor,

I think the administrator's report is the last one we'll receive from them. That is, I don't think in time the administrator will reveal all - this is it. The business is now sold, new owners are in the process of taking over, and the admins will disperse what little cash remains.

I for one am keen on finding out if criminal charges will be levied against Robert Logan. My attempts to contact the administrators on this matter have gone unanswered. My understanding from folks on the street is that RL is back to his usual self and blames everyone but himself for the failure - while continuing on with day to day life and looking for a lecturer job.

The Roaring Forties story won't be forgotten any time soon, that much is certain, but I don't expect to see any more revolutionary documents to shed light on the saga. Roaring Forties Australia Version 1.0 is gone. If any future actions will be taken it'll have to be with Robert Logan personally or the satellite companies in respective countries.

Ron
 

Trevor Booth

Lifetime Supporter
Supporter
Ron,
The company is in Administration not liquidation. The Administrator has sold the known assets of the company. The company "the business" has not been sold. The rights to the name 'roaring forties' formed part of the assets. The new owners could ,if they choose, form a new company with the name Roaring Forties, the existing Roaring forties company will undergo a name change more than likely.
Companies in Oz have a number, that is its identity, it can have 100 differing names over time, but the number never changes.
As I understand it Administration will continue for some time to sort out the mess which would include the Camco issues. I also understand that no distribution to creditors is made until Liquidation and winding up of the Company is complete. A company in Liquidation ceases to exist, it therefore does not have the ability to enter into any litigation or due process to recover more assets or debtors. There is nothing to stop you or, any other creditor for that matter, contacting the Administrator , CJL Partners, and asking what is happening. Dont let it rest, the Administrator, by law , has to act in the best interests of the creditors, secured or otherwise. For instance, to pursue other assets or debtors takes cash, the company had assets not cash, so the Administrator sold the known assets to get cash. This cash can be used to pursue other avenues to benefit the creditors. What they cant do is 'throw good money after bad'.
There exists tooling and product in SA. Given the amount of cash that went to SA the company would have some sort of claim on those items. Its not too hard to work out that Camco was owed money by the company. In order to pursue this issue the Admin needs cash to fund it. What the Admin cant do is spend 100 to get 50, thats not in the best interests of the creditors.
The Admin would ensure that it was worth pursuing or he would not do it.

The insolvent trading issue is different . My understanding is that the Admin has to reconstruct the books of the company to get a true and accurate picture of the companies affairs. This would include overseas transfers of cash. I dont know whether or not the Admin has to report a case of insolvent trading but it is very likely that he would have to. I believe that a final financial report is forwarded to ASIC,the regulator of companies in Aust,
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf is very militant with Company Directors that dont act within the Corporations Law.
Trevor
 

Ron Earp

Admin
nota2266 said:
Ron,
The company is in Administration not liquidation. The Administrator has sold the known assets of the company. The company "the business" has not been sold. The rights to the name 'roaring forties' formed part of the assets. The new owners could ,if they choose, form a new company with the name Roaring Forties, the existing Roaring forties company will undergo a name change more than likely.
Sorry, terminology is not correct here. A lot of that has to do with the fact I don't understand the terms in Australia as they are slightly different from the terms used in the US, and slightly different from the UK as well. I use the term business loosely - that is, to me it includes all the parts, tools, molds, jigs, RF name, website etc. but I think folks have the general idea. There are certainly arguments on both sides for and against a name change but I think the new owners have already decided what they will do though:

http://www.roaringforties.com.au/contactus.html

nota2266 said:
Companies in Oz have a number, that is its identity, it can have 100 differing names over time, but the number never changes.
As I understand it Administration will continue for some time to sort out the mess which would include the Camco issues. I also understand that no distribution to creditors is made until Liquidation and winding up of the Company is complete.
My understanding is the Camco bits and pieces, a part completed car, a partially paneled car, a couple of frames, and some jigs have been sold to a bidder from Australia. The molds from SA are being sold separately per IP agreements. So, it appears that sorting out the mess there is proceeding fairly quickly.

nota2266 said:
A company in Liquidation ceases to exist, it therefore does not have the ability to enter into any litigation or due process to recover more assets or debtors. There is nothing to stop you or, any other creditor for that matter, contacting the Administrator , CJL Partners, and asking what is happening.
I have contacted CJL and I've specifically asked about updates or information but I've not received anything. I've also asked our attorney to check with CJL and her last email indicated she'd not had any contact with them either. Folks in the US are interested in the money trail from overseas to Australia, and then from Australia to ????. I know that other members concerned about tracing the money have also requested money trail information but have not received it from CJL.


nota2266 said:
The insolvent trading issue is different . My understanding is that the Admin has to reconstruct the books of the company to get a true and accurate picture of the companies affairs. This would include overseas transfers of cash. I don't know whether or not the Admin has to report a case of insolvent trading but it is very likely that he would have to. I believe that a final financial report is forwarded to ASIC,the regulator of companies in Aust,
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf is very militant with Company Directors that dont act within the Corporations Law.
Trevor
It is my hope that the insolvent trading is pursued. From looking at cash flow in the administrators report it appears that the company was broke mid-2005 and basically lived on cash infusions taken through dealers for deposits on cars that were not being built. Furthermore, there was no way to build those cars either since the cash was gone almost immediately. I don't know all the people that knew this, but one certainly did, Robert Logan.

Ron
 
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Trevor Booth

Lifetime Supporter
Supporter
Ron,
Terminology
Administration is where the company is controlled by a person (other than the Directors ) appointed by the creditors, in this case CJL. The purpose is to sort out the mess. Liquidation is when the company is wound up (dissolved)
Liquidation only occurs where the company is in really bad shape and cannot be salvaged. Liquidation is the probable result for in this case.

CAMCO
There were a few more bits than you have mentioned, almost two complete cars, 108,109+ 4 chassis 110,115,120,137 in an advanced state of completion

There are wheel patterns as well as body moulds, and there must be moulds for the perspex bits as well.
The Administrator will only know what exists if he is told about it.


In the event that the company was trading whilst insolvent, I dont know if the Admin pursues the directors or if the creditors have to do this based on the financials prepared by the Admin.

You need to keep on the case and keep asking questions.

Trevor
 

Ron Earp

Admin
For those interested, have sent another request to the administrators and our attorney for clairifcation on the money trail both here and abroad. I'd sent a request a few weeks ago, maybe two weeks ago, but received no response. I hope that we can obtain some detailed information, if nothing else to satisfy our curiosity.

Best,
Ron
.
 

Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
the famous David Brown chassis?

I wondered what had happened to that. That was the DB GT40 monocoque that preceded mine. FWIW, we found that much of my chassis required correction and rewelding to fit the GT40 body made from the Wyer/Willment molds, so anyone who is looking at finishing the Brown chassis will have their work cut out for them. Then again, we're an enterprising bunch here....
 
Hi Jim

I sold Robert a full set of panels for that DB Mono in May 05

regards

Chris.
 
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