Rich Energy

[Chrill]

I mean, this has now warranted it's own topic. Let us sum up what has happened:

* A Hagrid lookalike, William Storey, decides to sell energy drinks to nobody but still own an energy drinks company. He names it Rich Energy
* Rich Energy signs a deal with Haas F1 team after backing out last-minute from a more expensive deal with Williams F1 Team. Rich Energy also sponsors multiple boxers, the West Ham United women's football team, and motorbike racing team True Heroes Racing.
* Rich Energy, still not selling energy drinks, decides to use an already existing logo owned by Whyte Bikes
* A British court order demands Rich Energy cease using the logo
* Rich Energy keeps using the logo
* Rich Energy does not pay the required fee to Whyte
* Rich Energy suddenly claims to have terminated their contract with Haas F1, due to the "PC attitude" of F1 and the fact that Haas is not beating Red Bull 8 races into the F1 season
* Haas keeps Rich Energy branding
* Rich Energy mocks Haas throughout the weekend
* Rich Energy changes its name to Lightning Volt ( ) (link)
* Lightning Volt changes ownership, and is now owned by super shady The BDG Group and a Matthew Bruce Kell (link)
* The BDG group is able to, in their own words, "We can help you avoid Insolvency proceedings, claims or prosecution for Insolvency Offences." (link)

So, will we see "Lightning Volt Haas F1 Team" in Germany, "Rich Energy Haas F1 Team", or simply "Haas F1 Team"?. No matter what, this extremely shady BDG Group seems set to protect William Storey from the money-thirsty Haas F1 Team. Great. Just what Haas needs.

[Penfold]

Blimey.  So Storey is out and this Matthew Bruce Kell chap has rebranded Rich Energy as Lightning Volt Limited.

Kell has eight different directorships in the UK, is the sole director of Lightning Volt Ltd, and owns at least 75% of said company.  In fact, looking through a few of his other companies they seem to share certain traits: they've been taken control of by Kell, undergone a name change and a clear out of all other directors/persons of interest, and are now left with Kell as majority owner.  Oh yeah, all eight of these have fallen under the Kell spell since October 2018... is it just me, or does this all sound a bit shady?

[Chrill]

Kell works for the BDG Group which I linked in the last row. Check their website, then tell me whether they look shady or not.
https://www.thebdggroup.com/content/home.php

Haas is not getting much more money, that is for sure.

EDIT: Oh, also there already exists a Volt energy drink so this new name was not very well thought through.

[Penfold]

I see, so BDG/Kell buying up distressed companies at a frantic rate and using them for, erm, honest business practices?

Edit: Not to worry, Lightning Volt Ltd. won't actually be selling any drinks!

[Chrill]

I see, so BDG/Kell buying up distressed companies at a frantic rate and using them for, erm, honest business practices?

BDG buying up distressed companies and "washing" them so that you do not have to pay what you owe. The name change is because the original company (Rich Energy) is tainted. Usually they deal with less high-profile companies, one would assume, and a name change then makes perfect sense. Here, it only serves to prove how shady Storey is.

[Penfold]

Not easy to come after directors for losses incurred by a limited liabilty company; separating the individual's assets & liabilities from those of the business is why firms are incorporated in that way.

[Chrill]

I'm not concerned so much about making Storey pay, I am more concerned with Haas getting paid at all.

[Penfold]

Does change of ownership mean that Lightning Volt can simply walk away from the Haas sponsorship?  Clearly one of the parties needs to show us the contract to sate our curiosity.

I suppose there's always the slim possibility that the new owners actually intend to market and then sell (you know, in shops) an energy drink....

[Chrill]

Lightning Volt is seemingly a way to dismantle Rich Energy without having to pay the full debts. I don't think they plan to recover the company, they plan to shut it down efficiently.

[Matt]

This seems like something an idiot does to think he's outsmarting the law. When in fact, selling a company and changing the name does not relieve you of paying outstanding debts. Instead, the idea seems to be that Storey took the money out of the company and then sold it for a nominal fee to this new guy, who can now say that the company has no money and cannot satisfy its debts.

Of course, Storey tweeted that he gave Haas a personal guarantee regarding the sponsorship price. And there is a belief that Haas has a bank guarantee for the sponsorship amount as well. Haas was also self-funded before this, so I'm not concerned about the team surviving.