Member Article

Dartford’s Caterham Cars in turmoil following £20m loss

Caterham Cars has revealed losses of more than £20m for the 18 months ending June last year following a failed venture with Renault, according to its latest accounts filed with Companies House.

The Dartford-based company was ‘disappointed’ with the results in which the company made a loss of £20.3m over the 18 month period, compared to £582k for the previous year.

Last month, the firm simplified its iconic Caterham Seven range to five from seven models, as it continues to suffer after a difficult year.

Caterham’s failed joint venture with Renault to develop a new road car to take on Porsche was a major contributing factor to the multi-million pound loss, after the French manufacturer exited in March last year.

The results come as no surprise, as the Caterham’s F1 postponed falling into administration with an impromptu crowdfunding campaign late last year, after which 230 staff were made redundant.

Chief executive Graham Macdonald said: “The company is undergoing a period of significant change as the shareholders challenge the business to grow significantly in the medium to long term.

“This has seen significant investments in various areas of the business and a significant increase in short term operational costs and overheads to prepare for this planned growth.

“The final results are not considered representative of the underlying trading performance of the business due to significant losses and costs incurred as a result of transactions which have been fully funded by the parent company and its ultimate shareholders.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .