Zenos Cars Goes Into Administration

Norfolk-based Zenos Cars has gone into administration, it was revealed on Wednesday. The British manufacturer behind the bonkers lightweight E10 range announced it had ceased operating after hitting financial troubles due to a raft of order cancellations last year.

Zenos Cars Goes Into Administration

Administrators are looking to speak to potential suitors who may want to buy the business and keep the sports cars with a niche following in production , the official statement from the car maker said.

Zenos was originally set up in 2012 by former Caterham and Lotus employees Ansar Ali and Mark Edwards to offer an alternative to the track-focused stripped-out road cars to those provided by their former employers. As a result, the brand created its first model, the £25,000 E10 – a roofless, mid-engined 2.0-litre performance car packing 200bhp that was capable of hitting 62mph in 4.5 seconds. Even racier models followed with the E10 S and E10 R boasting improved potency.

In September, Zenos announced that it had built its 100th car. It also added that production slots for the remainder of the year had been allocated and orders were overflowing into 2017.  However, it appears that some of these order were not fulfilled.

The official statement from the carmaker said:

Zenos Cars Limited has appointed Irvin Cohen and Gary Shankland of Begbies Traynor (London) LLP as Joint Administrators of the Company, following a recent downturn in trade.

The appointment was made by the Board of Directors of the Company on 16 January 2017 after cancelled export orders in late 2016 resulted in a shortfall in funding, forcing the business to cease trading

Speaking on behalf of the brand, Mark Edwards added:

It is with great disappointment that the Board has had to take this step.

We still believe that our products offer unrivalled affordable fun and we have already made very good progress in developing the next product in our strategy.

Irvin Cohen from Begbies Traynor confirmed it was now looking for potential buyers to come on board to bring the Norfolk manufacturer back to life.

The notice that appears on the site reads …

Zenos Administration

‘We are currently open to speaking with parties interested in securing a future for the business and would request that any enquiries are made directly with our London office,’ he said.

Note: Please note that the article appeared in part or entirety in This Is Money – UK 
Staff