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£1m cash back for TVR boss
TVR owner Nikolai Smolenski could be about to receive £1m "cash back" after the collapse of the sports car firm.
The payment would be made as administrators sift through the ruins of the once proud company.
In contrast, TVR's 250 axed staff may receive just 35 each as part of the distribution of assets.
Blackpool Automotive – the manufacturing arm of the firm – crashed into receivership in December with debts of more than 30m.
Mr Smolenski bought the company and its lucrative TVR brand name back from administrators last month in a deal which has angered his former workforce.
The Gazette now understands the 26-year-old Russian millionaire could be about to get at least half of the reported 2m he paid to regain ownership.
TVR's collapse left creditors – including suppliers, the Government, Blackpool Council, employees and Mr Smolenski himself – out of pocket to the tune of 33m.
Together with the cash from the buy-out and other assets such as unsold cars and factory equipment, assets total 2.5m
Out of that cash creditors will be compensated.
But, due to the company's massive debts, they will only receive 5p for every 1 owed.
And as Mr Smolenski and TVR's parent firm (TVR Motors Company Ltd) are named by administrators as being owed around 22.3m, he is in line to recoup an estimated 1.1m.
The news has devastated his former workers who say they are collectively owed 176,000 in unpaid wages.
In contrast to Mr Smolenski's pay back, they may collectively receive only 8,800 - an average of just 35 per worker.
Some workers suspect the collapse of TVR was a cynical attempt by bosses to get out of paying them thousands in redundancy money.
They were eventually paid out by the Government.
Mr Smolenski now plans to shift TVR production abroad.
Chris Davies, 43, who worked for the company for 12 years, said: "It's disgusting.
"At the end of the day the company has been allowed to fall into administration. He (Smolenski) has had the Government pick up paying out redundancy and then bought the firm back. How can that be right?
"There are loads of people owed money, many of them small suppliers, who could face going to the wall because they're only going to get 5p in the pound back. It's just not right."
Blackpool Council is among the 100-plus creditors named by Manchester-based administrators PKF.
The authority is owed 11,000. HM Customs and Excise have a claim for 855,000 while former TVR owner and landlord of the company's historic Bristol Avenue factory Peter Wheeler is reportedly owed 2.7m.
Employees are owed 26,204 in accrued holiday pay which will be paid in full, as will the administrators' 147,000 costs.
However, the workers also claim they are owed wages for the 12-week "lieu of notice" period they say they were entitled to when they were made redundant in January.
Their claim of 176,256 is listed among the "unsecured" creditors. These organisations and individuals will be paid pro-rata at the 5p in the pound rate.
Full list of creditors:
Air Products, Layton, 629.87
Andrew Muirhead & Son Limited, Glasgow, 9,864.32
Ainsdale Computer Consultants, Mawdlesley, 2,820.00
Alpine Electronics of UK Ltd, Coventry, 1,601.88
A P Racing, Coventry, 16,836.94
A B Copyright, Hipperholme, 2,260.21
Aquaid, Burscough, 548.01
Arrans Investments Limited, Macedonia, 2,861,515.77
Artwork Publication, Marton, Blackpool, 315.00
ADT Fire & Security, Middlesex, 289.05
Auto Trading Luft Japan Company Ltd, Japan, 1,472.25
Biffa Waste Services Ltd, High Wycombe, 2,418.05
Saia-Burgess Gateshead Ltd, Gateshead, 418.19
X Part Factors (County Motors), Morecambe, 473.41
British Telecommunications, Preston, 6,173.52
Blackpool Electrical Traders, Poulton, 323.69
Robert Bosch Limited, Broad Water Park, 5,641.78
Builders Suppliers Ltd, Cleveleys, 901.92
Blackpool Borough Council, Blackpool, 11,108.59
Bolton Lock Company Ltd, Bolton, 52.54
Bibby Factors Northeast Ltd, Sunderland, 885.96
Barclaycard Merchant Services, Northampton, 47.00
British Gas, Southampton, 2,333.17
Chapman Engineering Limited, Poulton, 149.69
CTS Corporation UK Ltd, Glasgow, 4,383.37
Castle TVR, Essex, 11,433.27
Clarion Events, London, 13,138.67
Christopher Neil, Northwich, Cheshire, 2,804.76
Ciceley Continental Ltd (Car), Preston, 0.02
Castle TVR Spares, Essex, 596.76
Christopher Neil Spares, Northwich, Cheshire, 2,804.76
Dexter Paints Ltd, Burnley, 23,305.42
Direct Displays and Exhibitions, Chorley, 1,172.65
DHL Global Forewarding (UK) Ltd, Staines, 143.61
Direct Chemical Supplies, Blackpool, 44.06
Durable Fasteners Ltd, London, 35.25
DMC Business Machines PLC, Surrey, 63.98
Exius Insurance, Manchester, 45.94
EPTG Ltd, Uxbridge, 85.87
Erocall, Redbourn, Herts, 0.29
Farnell Electronic Comp Ltd, Leeds, 2,140.88
Federal Express Europe Inc, Coventry, 63.21
Freeland Motors of Jersey, Jersey, 131.04
Fuchs Lubritech (UK) Ltd, London, 361.22
Grant Thornton, Manchester, 17,742.50
Goodyear Tyres GB Ltd, Birmingham, 947.23
H L Gormer Ltd, Wigan, 11,098.95
Giles Cooper, Bedford, 21,138.53
Glenvarigill TVR, Edinburgh, 504.81
Hills Dickinson, Liverpool, 2,119.14
Hedley's Humpers, London, 279.06
HM Revenue and Customs, Preston 697,980.00
Hexham Horseless Carriages, Northumberland, 650.76
HM Revenue and Customs, Liverpool, 158,071.85
IMMI, Cramlington, 10,680.25
IGUS (UK) Ltd, Northampton, 27.21
HM Revenues and Customs, Worthing, West Sussex, 76,000
Kopak-Walker Ltd, Hitchin, 306.81
Jack Knight, Woking, Surrey, 1,781.18
Koyo Steering Europe, Paris, 10,193.23
Konica Minolta Business, Basildon, 803.39
Arbuthnot Commercial Finance, Birmingham, 45.83
Fuchs Lubritech UK Ltd, London, 361.22
Land Rover UK Ltd, Lode Lane, Block One, 22,931.17
Linton Engineering, Bearbrook Industrial Precinct, 6,567.94
Lawrence Vehicles Ltd, Bamber Bridge, 883.52
L1J Fluid Power Ltd, Grimshaw Street, 620.41
Harry B Litherland, Blackpool, 85.51
The Living Office, Hereford, 779.83
Peter J Lawson, Blackpool, 60.00
Lancer Products Ltd, Walsall, West Midlands, 0.08
Neil Myerson and Co, Altrincham, 1,304.72
Maa Ja Meri Oy, Finland, 363.58
United Utilities, Warrington, 4,155.47
Nmag B V Spares, Netherlands, 834.27
Nationwide Franking Sense, Bolton, 564.00
Plasma Private Ltd, India, 3,210.50
Pexa Ltd, Holywell Green, 160.65
Poole Clayton Auto Limited, Walworth Industrial Estate, 1,635.60
Paintshield Ltd, Grantham, Lincs, 411.25
Plastic Parts Centre, Guinness Road, 297.26
Power Torque Engineering Limited, Coventry, 652.83
Prime Exports, India, 665.00
Peninsular TVR (Car), Devon, 6,341.06
RAC Motoring Services, Bristol, 18,124.06
Ross Turner, Garstang, 1,358.17
RPS Group PLC, Oxon, 334.88
Rentokil Hygiene, West Sussex, 313.91
Serck Intertruck, Salford, 58.75
Safety-Kleen UK Ltd, Isleworth, 716.92
Spimin Developments Ltd, Poulton, 2,891.32
Scott Bader Co Ltd, Northamptonshire, 621.37
Sparta Limited, Rossendale, 19,425.81
Sonic Fire & Security Ltd, Buxton Lane, 117.50
System Hygiene Ltd, Accrington, 874.66
Spesso Gaskets SrI, Italy, 1,210.15
UTI Worlwide (UK) Ltd, Milton Keynes, 4,643.70
Sunlight Service Group, Merseyside, 10,912.34
Stephen Sanderson Transport Ltd, Leicestershire, 458.25
Sparco, Italy, 18,749.82
Scottish Power PLC, Glasgow, 15,659.06
Safe & Warm Ltd, Blackpool, 34.66
Service Stainless Steel, Barton Dock Road, 222.94
Sinemaster Motor Factors Ltd, Sheffield, 251.42
Sportmobil Ltd, Moscow, 6,552.34
Nikolai Smolenski, Vienna, 43,278.61
Saia-Burgess Gateshead Ltd, Tyne & Wear, 418.95
TVR Power Ltd, Coventry, 21,778.70
TNT UK Ltd, Bury, 5,639.73
TEU Ltd, Southport, 1,655.32
Teconnex Ltd, Keighley, 1,113.90
G Turner, London, 110.78
TVR Motors Co Ltd, Blackpool, 22,276,645.01
United Parcel Service, Feltham, 93.84
United Utilities, Warrington, 4,155.47
Vodafone Connect Ltd, Newbury, 5,668.58
Verbatim Call Centres, Newbury, Berks, 548.16
Wicks & Martin Ltd, Herefordshire, 1,455.58
Waveform Solutions Ltd, Warwick, 881.25
Williams of Harrogate Ltd (CR), Harrogate, 10,412.37
Westover Sportscars Spares, Dorset, 102.45
Peter Wheeler, Altrincham, 2,771,882.00
XPart Factors, Carlisle, 473.41
ZS Lemforder TVA.SA, Spain, 4,125.20
125 entries totalling 29,309,139.21
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