Mallory Park Motorsport goes into administration

Mallory Park Motorsport Limited has today announced that the company has been put into Administration. It’s one of the first circuits I ever raced at, but in recent years has been coming under pressure by the local NIMBYs, who’ve been campaigning for tighter enforcement of the circuit’s Noise Abatement Notice.

These highly restrictive noise conditions have been in force since 1985, but have been placed under scrutiny by local residents, some of whom were new to the local village.

Mallory Park is one of Britain’s most friendly and welcoming circuits.

Mallory Park (MPML) and the local authority worked hard with the residents to find a compromise, but unfortunately the council decided to prosecute MPML on five charges of the Notice during 2012 which involved operating on a Saturday over and above the four days agreed in the Notice.

In a court hearing heard last month, the charges were upheld and Mallory Park was obliged to cancel all track day operations and driver training activity, severely denting the company’s income prospects.

In the last two weeks an alternative plan was presented to the local authority, which relied upon a reduction in the fees paid by the circuit to lease its grounds. During the past eight years these costs have risen by over 40%, making the reduced operating plan (under the rigid noise abatement notice) financially untenable.

Unfortunately the Land Owner – Titan Properties Ltd – refused to make sufficient concessions, and the circuit ran its final race meeting yesterday.

What a dreadful shame. The administrator, Ian Robert of Kingston Smith & Partners LLP, is now working with all stakeholders to try and restore racing once again to Mallory Park, saying “I hope the administration process can assist in finding a solution which will be beneficial to all parties concerned.”

But don’t hold your breath..

He continued: “To that end, I will be negotiating with the landlord and the council, with the support of the BARC, to ensure that racing can be enjoyed at Mallory Park for years to come. Although it is early days, I am hopeful that, once a solution to the lease is found, all of the company’s creditors should receive a substantial dividend, which I understand is very much the driving force behind the continued support of the BARC.”

Image Credit: Steven C Wilson on Flickr