New DJR Crisis??

[GTRMagic]

Article Here

The 2008 car licences are likely to be housed in a separate corporate vehicle, so they may or may not escape from the TEGA insolvency test....

... as for the rest....

[peckstar]

how dissapointing

Peckstars free financial tip no 1. if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is

[GTRMagic]

Would have been nice if they got the company name (spelling) correct...

here

[TSR]

Not good at all, lets hope that the team can keep going this year & next. Looks like Westpoint has come back and bit Dick.

[Prickly_Goo]

So where does this leave the drivers Steve, Will and the two Enduro drivers Steve and Warren?

seems like another TD case.. Team is broke.. Drivers arent paid.. Driver takes team to court....

And thats probs explains why there Merchandise was sooo expensive at Clipsal...

[Wood-duck]

Great spotting GTR... this is a real worry. I dont know a hell of a lot about insolvencys etc, but would i be right in guessing that the rescue 'package' would allow DJR to continue trading - ie: continue racing ??

The "Dick Johnson Group" is this the entity that operates the Racing team as well or just the First Rock/V8 Mobile entities - maybe you can help with this query GTR ? And what happens to Charlie the forklift man, and his investment ?

If the creditors do not accept the package, then assume that they will put DJR into bankruptcy and then start liquidating assets (ie: Cars, transporter, engines) to recover what they are owed... which would mean an end to DJR complete...is that correct ?

It is an absolute travisty that a man like Dick Johnson, who has given so much to so many over the years, has been left in this predicament by, primarily, the Westpoint fraud.

Someone should be hung.

[Forda]

Administrators & receiver-managers are idiots - and Korda Mentha are no exception, as the whole country saw with their handling of Ansett.

Expect to see a firesale of DJR as these administrators yet again fail to grapple with the complexities of another industry they don't understand.

[thunderbolt]

Johnson and Davison are cashed up and dangerous

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sto...-39478,00.html

[Chatters]

Poor old Johnson can't get a break can he?

[Pro Racer]

one minute they are all sweet and rosy net they are not, what going on? i hope it's the former.

[Rombles1]

How well do Dick and Gorey get along?

[Also a Believer]

or Dick and MARK HOWARD.

[panel damage]

Very well on Both Counts.

And I wouldnt be worried as far tas the race team itself goes and its 2008 program.

[GTRMagic]

We should actually take a considered view of the happenings....

It appears that the company formerly known as "Dick Johnson Group P/L" is now in the hands of Korda Mentha... and has been renamed...

The significance of the renaming could be interesting. On the DJR website, it is suggested that "DJR" as a device/logo is a trademark of "Dick Johnson Group P/L" If this is the legal entity that has done a financial bellyflop, it has to beg the question as to the ownership of the "DJR" brand name & device. Presumably the beanies in charge of the thing have sold them, or have them available/lined up to be sold.

The article suggests that the "First Rock Home Loans" and "V8Telecom" businesses were part of the "Dick Johnson Group P/L' legal entity. Both were new start ups of a few years ago, in markets of mortgage origination and telecom reselling that already had many many players. The Unique Selling Proposition seemed to be having the "Dick Johnson" brand name attached... which in marketingspeak may have provided each business with halo effect credibility from that brand. Presuming you actually liked Dick Johnson of course and the brand thing is one of the purchase drivers.

If the stories were right in 2006, the v8telecom.com.au business was underperforming to expectations... and was looking to be wound down. The website is still alive, but you dont get the feeling it has been updated for a while.. so perhaps it isnt active. Indeed if you call the 1300 number on the website, you get connected to someone called "Intrapower" which can be found at http://www.intrapower.com.au/

Around Bathurst time last year, it was much rumoured that a group associated with development series racer Barry Tanton had taken a significant stake in the First Rock Home Loans business. Indeed the brand still appears (or did at Adelaide anyway) on the bootlid of the DJR Falcons. But if you go to the website today... at http://www.firstrock.com.au/ ... the website has exceeded its bandwidth and is dead. A rush of customers concerned about the status of their borrower perhaps overloaded the box perhaps??

It would be difficult to imagine that the 2008 car licences used to operate the DJR cars in the main game would not be isolated from this mess somehow.

An interesting Wheels article some years ago identified "Vendace P/L" Here which had something to do with a family trust, as the legal entity that was at the core of the DJR racing business.. where the team itself was owned and controlled... and where the sponsorships were allegedly paid into.

The article also suggested that Mr Johnson (intimated as the "Dick Johnson Group P/L" entity) was selling car parts to help keep the operation afloat. Which perhaps questions which legal entity owned and ran the cars as well… especially since a group allegedly restoring an ex-DJR E-series chassis had apparently been buying parts thru the “Dick Johnson Group P/L” legal entity up until quite recently.

So if the 2008 car licences, the racing equipment, vehicles and race cars are held in the "Vendace P/L" legal entity, then there appears not to be a risk to the viability to the racing team, on the strength of the issues with the "Dick Johnson Group P/L" legal entity.

If the “Dick Johnson Group P/L” legal entity owned the Staplyton race facility (which was allegedly mortgaged as well) then perhaps the team may need a relocation, or more accurately a happy parent willing to invest in hard assets for the squad. Enter Waverly Forklifts perhaps…..

What the failure may do, if the newspaper article is totally accurate, is reduce Mr Johnson's capability to keep the DJR team alive from personal funds. The article isnt well worded, but its not hard to draw the conclusion that of the $6m+ in debts owed by "Dick Johnson Group P/L", that somewhere around $4m, of that is owed to Mr Johnson or associated entities.

If one of those associated entities is "Vendace P/L" and debts are likely to be settled at cents in the dollar... this may crystallise an issue for the racing team as well. Then as Korda Mentha go through the funds moving through the "Dick Johnson Group P/L" legal entity, there may be more issues with intercompany sales and transfers of funds.

I wonder whether Korda Mentha will take the same attitude as Mr Johnson with regards to the alleged unpaid income from Westpoint that allegedly wasn’t chased because of the “mums and dads” that were already impacted by that collapse too….

It doesn’t paint Mr Johnson in a particularly bright light, whatever the outcome…

[cavvy]

Originally Posted by Forda

Administrators & receiver-managers are idiots - and Korda Mentha are no exception, as the whole country saw with their handling of Ansett.

Expect to see a firesale of DJR as these administrators yet again fail to grapple with the complexities of another industry they don't understand.

Funny that Forda, I'd cite Ansett as an example of how good Korda Mentha are - exactly who do you see them acting for? The law is very clear &, without putting to fine a point on it, I doubt you can advise it, one sentence, who?

Now lets see if it is Forda who is ... what did you call them ... was it idiots .. just step up to the plate.

[SSbaby]

That's sad news. I thought DJR were over their rough period (when Radisich was part of the team).

I'd normally say c'mon Ford, do the right thing by YOUR man... but I know Ford is in just as much scheizenhausen.

[KineticEnergy]

Originally Posted by thunderbolt

Johnson and Davison are cashed up and dangerous

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sto...-39478,00.html

Did I read that artcle correctly? Send one of the cars to England for wind tunnel testing? Aren't the aero packages controlled for each model car?

[SSbaby]

Originally Posted by KineticEnergy

Did I read that artcle correctly? Send one of the cars to England for wind tunnel testing? Aren't the aero packages controlled for each model car?

The design constraints are... but that doesn't mean the teams can't tinker with aero set up and implement other undercarriage ideas that would allow the cars to generate more grip.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by KineticEnergy

Did I read that artcle correctly? Send one of the cars to England for wind tunnel testing? Aren't the aero packages controlled for each model car?

Sounds like Nero fiddling as Rome burned....

[KineticEnergy]

Looks like I'll need to read the technical regulations again. Just so that I can understand what freedoms one has in the implementation of the regulated aero bits.

[db120176]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

The article suggests that the "First Rock Home Loans" and "V8Telecom" businesses were part of the "Dick Johnson Group P/L' legal entity.

I believe these two brands were set up on the suggestion of one Craig Gore

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by KineticEnergy

Looks like I'll need to read the technical regulations again. Just so that I can understand what freedoms one has in the implementation of the regulated aero bits.

More to do with the airflows under the bonnet, as inlet and outlet.. and undercar paths... and more effective mounting points for splitters and the like than just the outer appearance of the components...

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by db120176

I believe these two brands were set up on the suggestion of one Craig Gore

Hmmm... who?

[GTRMagic]

New article Here

Do the Daily Telegraph writers come from the same school as a certain motorsport publication, not letting facts get in the way of a good story? DJ is an investor in the now-failed Westpoint apparently

There is a 2 page feature on the team and its woes in today's Sunday Telegraph.

So does anyone feel sorry for the owners of the other $2m that wont ever be repaid to creditors??

[cavvy]

Westpoint failed, then followed two DJ business start ups .... & self sponsored.

Westpoint contributed mightily, but ....

Who is Graham Bowden?

The receivers will have an interesting time tracking back to the demise of Westpoint, the ownership of assets, any asset sales/transfers.

The decision of Mr Marshall to walk away after due diligence seems justifiable.