Around fifty parties showed interest in taking over the Manor Racing MRT team before they ultimately folded, according to administrators FRP Advisory.
Just Racing Services, who ran the team up until the end of the 2016 season, entered administration in January, with the team closing its doors at the end of the month, with owner Stephen Fitzpatrick saying that the loss of tenth place in the championship sealed the team’s fate.
The Sauber F1 Team’s ninth place finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix relegated Manor to the bottom of the championship standings and lost them the subsequent prize money, although some parties were interested before time ultimately ran out on the team.
“The net funding requirement for the team for the 2017 season was £43m (which excludes any income which could be achieved from driver income and sponsorship),” read the statement.
“Interested parties were advised of this requirement. [We] have had discussions with approximately 50 interested parties but none were able to provide sufficient comfort that they had the cash resources to enable the company to return to solvency.
“The request to interested parties was to demonstrate the immediate availability of £5m with a supporting business plan to show how the 2017 year would be funded.
“Dealing with interested parties has been time consuming due to the nature of the sport and those people involved in it. A number of parties occupied significant administrator time but were unable to demonstrate that they have access to the cash resources to take the team forward.
“Despite every opportunity afforded to interested parties, none could provide a credible solution to the insolvency of the company.”
150 employees were made redundant on 31 January, with the team formally withdrawing from Formula 1 at the beginning of March.
