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Deleted User YDKXO
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According to this month's MBY, the Chappells are up and running again selling Traders to unsuspecting punters. For anyone who doesn't know, Tony Chappell's previous company, Tarquin Boat Company, went into administration last year owing a lot of money to creditors and leaving several customers with part built boats out of pocket and without their boats. Now it seems, a new company called Trader Motor Yachts, apparently owned and run by Tony Chappell's son, Toby, has bought the assets of the Tarquin Boat Company for £440k and is once again marketing Trader boats. This is not the first time Tony Chappell has gone bust and risen like a phoenix from the ashes leaving a trail of unsecured creditors and unhappy boat owners behind him. Apparently, Tony Chappell is not involved with the new Trader Motor Yachts company; yeah right.
The MBY article (more like an advertorial really) left many questions unanswered. For example how was it that, of the £440k paid for the assets of Tarquin Boat Company, £384k went straight back to Tony Chappell himself as a secured creditor? Tarquin Boat Co left more than £1m worth of unsecured creditors; how did a one horse sales company like Tarquin Boat Company manage to run up such huge debts and who were the unlucky creditors?
Then there is the issue of the new Trader Motor Yacht company taking responsibility for completing the 7 unfulfilled orders left by the failed Tarquin Boat Company. MBY presented this as some kind of act of altruististic charity but my guess is that Trader Boat Company only did this for their own benefit. First and most obviously, the Trader brand image would only be further tarnished had they not done this and second, I bet the manufacturing company in Taiwan would have refused to manufacture any more boats for them had they not completed the existing orders. Apart from anything else, the existing orders were profit oppurtunities for the new company.
Oh yes the new company is going to use client accounts in the future and letters of credit as if that is supposed to make punters feel better. We all know that client accounts can easily be manipulated and letters of credit are only as watertight as the terms and conditions written into them.
So there we have it. The Chappells walk away from £1m worth of debts and have a new unencumbered company to do exactly what they were doing before. They've even managed to persuade a couple of gullible owners to invest in the new company; lets hope that's money those owners can afford to lose
The MBY article (more like an advertorial really) left many questions unanswered. For example how was it that, of the £440k paid for the assets of Tarquin Boat Company, £384k went straight back to Tony Chappell himself as a secured creditor? Tarquin Boat Co left more than £1m worth of unsecured creditors; how did a one horse sales company like Tarquin Boat Company manage to run up such huge debts and who were the unlucky creditors?
Then there is the issue of the new Trader Motor Yacht company taking responsibility for completing the 7 unfulfilled orders left by the failed Tarquin Boat Company. MBY presented this as some kind of act of altruististic charity but my guess is that Trader Boat Company only did this for their own benefit. First and most obviously, the Trader brand image would only be further tarnished had they not done this and second, I bet the manufacturing company in Taiwan would have refused to manufacture any more boats for them had they not completed the existing orders. Apart from anything else, the existing orders were profit oppurtunities for the new company.
Oh yes the new company is going to use client accounts in the future and letters of credit as if that is supposed to make punters feel better. We all know that client accounts can easily be manipulated and letters of credit are only as watertight as the terms and conditions written into them.
So there we have it. The Chappells walk away from £1m worth of debts and have a new unencumbered company to do exactly what they were doing before. They've even managed to persuade a couple of gullible owners to invest in the new company; lets hope that's money those owners can afford to lose
