
Translated by Milo Dvorak
13. 6. 2024
Business Newsletter #42
Good morning,
I've got a hunch this article's gonna be readable particularly for car enthusiasts, although the educational contribution brought about by it is applicable to everybody.
A petrolhead or not, I trust you'll find something of value in it.
Published by HN.cz on 11 June 2024 (paid subscription may be required).
Slavik Jagspares, a specialised car repair company, has been restoring historic Jaguar cars for nearly 30 years. It also manufactures spare parts for these classics for businesses in Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom. According to the company's founder, Jaroslav Slavik, the business had never faced a single complaint from customers during this time. However, the first and only complaint came two years ago, leading to a legal dispute and eventually the bankruptcy of the small company from Mostkovice near Prostějov.
The company was brought down by a legal dispute it had been engaged in for the past two years with an Austrian client regarding the renovation of his car. The company has lost the case and must pay the customer over CZK 3 million. "It has destroyed the company. It was a premeditated fraud," believes the company's founder, Jaroslav Slavik.
The seventy-nine-year-old man, who now serves only as an advisor at the company, recalls that two years ago, Austrian Axel Gebauer brought his Jaguar to Prostějov, requesting the renovation of the seats and roof of his convertible. Slavik Jagspares outsourced this work to a British company.
"We signed a contract before sending it to the UK, stating that a transporter was taking the vehicle for interior renovation and that upon return, the car would undergo minor repairs as per the customer's wishes," Slavik told HN.
However, upon the car's return from the UK, the client claimed that he had agreed with the company on a complete renovation of the vehicle. "But that costs around €100,000, not 25,000 like the interior renovation," the businessman points out. "Furthermore, the valuer brought in by the client subsequently found all sorts of faults in the car, which had likely been done by someone else before us," he adds.
Slavik Jagspares then lost the ensuing legal battle in Vienna. "The court ruling essentially sent us into insolvency because we don't have the money to pay," says Slavik.
According to the insolvency filing, the company owes Gebauer CZK 3.17 million, and an additional CZK 100,000 for legal costs. The liabilities also include a debt to Komerční banka amounting to CZK 953,000. "These are loans we took in Covid when there were fewer orders and we had been repaying them normally until the legal dispute," claims the company's founder.
Slavik began restoring Jaguar XK and E-Type cars in 1995. "A complete car renovation takes one to three years, depending on the complexity. Repairing the bodywork alone is about a year's work and costs CZK 500,000," Slavik explains, adding that he would work on three to four cars simultaneously.
The annual turnover of around CZK 5 million was secured by the production of spare parts for dealers in the UK, Germany and the United States. The company from northern Moravia developed special devices, for instance for ignition adjustment, gearboxes, and improving brakes.
"Such parts are hardly made by anyone today and this work constituted a significant part of the company's operations. Our key customer was SNG Barratt," Slavik names the largest manufacturer and supplier of parts for Jaguar cars.
Slavik was actively involved in the company that bears his name until 2004, after which he handed it over to the next generation of his family. Even approaching eighty, he continued to work as an advisor. And although the company is now closing, Slavik would like to pass on his know-how.