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Mallory Park Put Into Administration

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Mallory Park logo (Credit: British Automobile Racing Club)

Mallory Park Motorsport Limited, the company that operates Mallory Park, has announced that it has been put in to administration.

Mallory Park was put under a highly restrictive Noise Notice in 1985 embracing all circuit activities, however many of the provisions were open to interpretation. Since then MPML had enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council, reaching a level of understanding to work within the Notice.

However, the agreement was placed under scrutiny by local residents – many of whom had moved in to the village after the agreements were made – who made representations to the Borough Council to apply the rigid interpretation of the 1985 Notice.

MPML and the local council worked hard to try and reach a compromise, but in 2012 it ended with the council deciding to prosecute MPML on five charges of the Notice. The court hearing took place in August 2013 and ruled that MPML were guilty on all five occasions, but was given the right to take the establishment rights of the 1985 Notice to a higher court.

The immediate implication meant that MPML had to cancel all track day operations and use of track for the local community, such as young driver training, while cutting the race calendar down to just 40 days racing on Sundays per annum and only allowing testing on Wednesdays – effectively cutting on track action to just two days a week. The result was a significant loss of income for the circuit, as well local businesses and employers, resulting in MPML inevitably having a financially unstable business plan.

Two weeks ago MPML developed an innovative three stage recovery plan which would hopefully meet the wishes of the residents and make Mallory Park a viable business. However, a fundamental part of the plan was the agreement of the land owner, Titan Properties Ltd., to reduce the annual lease rental. Over the last eight years the lease rental has risen by 40%, but despite intense work by the MPML board, Titan Properties refused to make a substantive offer to allow the plan to proceed.

The British Automobile Racing Club were keen to keep Mallory Park on the map, including helping by paying for certain essential supplies to allow meetings to take place, and would have supported MPML to ensure all trade creditors were paid. The deal required the support of the landlord with a sustainable rent, which was not met, leaving the MPML directors with no choice but to place the company in administration.

“I will be working with all the stakeholders to ensure that Mallory Park will see racing again,” said administrator Ian Robert. “I hope the administration process can assist in finding a solution which will be beneficial to all parties concerned.”

“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.”

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Based in Mid-Wales, James joined TCF at the start of the 2013 season, covering a range of disciplines, predominantly Motorcycle Road Racing and NASCAR. Follow him on Twitter @JCCharman
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