Yahoo Finance Aston Martin's billionaire owner in head-on collision with super-rich hypercar buyers
Nestled in the Swiss countryside on the outskirts of St Gallen is a luxury car showroom that more closely resembles an elite members club.
Visitors are invited to lounge in front of an open fireplace and enjoy food prepared by a resident chef as they decide whether to part with wads of cash.
For years the space, run by businessmen Florian Kamelger and Andreas Baenziger, is where some of the world’s wealthiest individuals have chosen to splash millions of pounds on Aston Martin’s limited edition cars – the most expensive and prestigious on offer.
But under billionaire chairman Lawrence Stroll, who bought a major stake in 2020, Aston has ripped up the lucrative partnership. The Canadian has gone to war with Kamelger and Baenziger, owners of Swiss car dealer Nebula Project, in a legal battle that has set tongues wagging in the industry.
Aston, famed for making James Bond’s vehicles, has claimed the Swiss car dealer failed to pay customer deposits worth millions for orders of its £2.5m Valkyrie sports car.
The dispute, which first erupted into the open this summer, is sure to prompt questions for Aston on Thursday as it reports its fourth quarter results.
Customers and dealers who have spoken to the Telegraph say they are aghast at the row, with many arguing it has no grounds and will end with “no winners”.
One owner, who is following the situation but did not want to be identified, says he believed the legal battle “will only create losers”.
Others, including one major UK luxury car dealer, says the row is damaging for Aston at a time when it desperately needs all the friends it can get. The company reported a £90.7m loss for the six months to June 30, even as it tripled sales for the period.
Special cars like the Valkyrie are by far Aston’s most profitable, making its relationships with well-connected dealers vitally important.
The row dates back to an agreement struck five years ago by former Aston boss Andy Palmer, Kamelger and Baenziger which sealed the development of the firm’s first so-called “hypercar”, later known as the Valkyrie.
Created by F1 designer Adrian Newey, it was to be the “most extreme Aston Martin ever”, putting Formula 1 race car performance into a vehicle customers could drive on ordinary roads, and designed to pave the way for a new generation of less-expensive, mid-engine cars including the Valhalla and the Vanquish.
The company limited production to just 150 cars, as well as 30 made for racetrack use, each costing £2.5m each, encouraging desirability.
When the idea was first broached in 2016, Palmer was short of funds and could not convince investors to back it. He turned to Kamelger and Baenziger, who by that point had been working with the firm for years.
The pair, both doctors and amateur racing drivers, first set up their Aston dealership business in 2010 and by 2016 had opened their new premises, near St Gallen.
They believed there was demand for a car like the Valkryie – Switzerland, the low tax haven, was home to a perfect clientele – and agreed to provide funds to develop it, in exchange for royalties if it proved a success. The deal was thought to be worth as much as €20m to €30m per year to the pair over a decade.
Unveiling it at an industry show in 2017, Palmer vowed to begin production in two years’ time. Still, the agreement was not considered large enough to warrant inclusion in Aston’s prospectus before it listed in London in 2018. Palmer declined to comment.
While the hypercar proved wildly popular, almost instantly selling out, production soon became bogged down in delays. Aston, meanwhile, was facing cash problems only heightened by the pandemic.
In March 2020 Stroll, who made his name investing in luxury brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors, threw the company a lifeline in a £500m rescue deal, sacking Palmer in the process while vowing to turn the struggling carmaker into a “British Ferrari”.
With Palmer’s exit, Valkyrie’s release was also pushed back again, to later this year – at least two years later than originally promised.
An announcement in June of this year, however, stunned the car industry. Aston revealed it was bringing criminal and civil proceedings against Kamelger and Baenziger in Switzerland.
Heinz Haller, former president of Dow Chemical Europe, who owns four Aston Martins and has another two on order, bought his cars from the entrepreneurs and says he is appalled by the way the pair have been treated by the company.
“I’m very upset about how it has been handled,” he adds. “I think it is very questionable behaviour on the part of Aston Martin.”
In a statement in June the carmaker accused the pair of “failure to pay some customer deposits for Aston Martin Valkyrie programme orders received” and said it would take a £15m hit to its finances as a result.
Customers were assured they would not lose deposits and Aston added the deal termination would actually leave it better off in the long term – a detail that has raised eyebrows among critics. The company, which said its claims were supported by clients, declined to comment further.
Kamelger and Baenziger have denied the claims and previously said they were “surprised and disappointed about the aggressive tone” taken by Aston.
“On the contrary, we and our customers have been significantly impacted by Aston Martin’s behaviour, resulting among others in a delay of Valkyrie customer deliveries by more than two years due the late start of its production,” they added in the statement, vowing to take steps to protect their rights and insisting they have always acted in good faith
The statement hinted they would still be open to a settlement – “we want to make it clear we keep our commitments if Aston Martin keeps their obligations” – though they declined to comment.
As the case ensues, what matters most for the major UK car dealer is getting their hands on the cars.
“[Aston] have promised people their Valkyries and if they do not deliver now, they are going to lose credibility,” they add. “They have got to show people now that they can deliver.”
But for now the row under Stroll means its eventual release, once an opportunity to pop the champagne corks, will leave a bittersweet taste in the mouth.
