‘Spyker Services BV didn’t even have a bank account’

‘This bankruptcy is not necessary at all. It’s not a problem, because I’ll solve it all, I’ll pay for everything, everyone.’ These are more or less the first words of Spyker CEO Victor Muller in a conversation with curator Dennis Steffens, associated with Van Diepen Van der Kroef. In the new edition of the podcast Under Curators, Elisa Hermanides and Thomas van Zijl talk in depth with Steffens about the bankruptcy of Dutch sports car manufacturer Spyker.

Spyker initially seemed to have a bright future under Muller’s leadership. Finally, about 260 cars are produced, there is an event in Formula 1 and, moreover, Spyker takes over the ailing but larger Saab in 2010. From then on it goes downhill and there is little left of Spyker.

But Muller himself still seems to believe in his dream. ‘Muller has been looking for financial partners. Investors really recognize his plans. But that has been successful on a very small scale,” says Steffens.

Under the Guardians | Listen to this episode

Muller and Spyker met across the board on March 20, 2020. “That was a Friday,” Steffens recalls. ‘Muller is very good at getting reprieve from his creditors, such as the Tax Authority. Eventually, the Tax Authorities filed for bankruptcy, and even then he was able to get a few days’ extension from the court on Tuesday afternoon.

That’s unique, because bankruptcies in the Netherlands are basically announced every Tuesday.’ In this case it concerned the company Spyker Services BV, a Zeewolde company that employed six people who took care of the maintenance of Spyker cars.

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The first conversation between Muller and supervisor Steffens took place by phone, due to the restrictions imposed during the corona crisis. “That was a shame, but when the bankruptcy was announced, unfortunately there was no longer a working company. I’ve never been to Zeewolde either.’ And there was also little life in financial housekeeping. ‘Spyker Services BV didn’t even have a bank account and that makes governance very poor.’

Quirky feat

What Steffens remembers most is Muller’s positive attitude, whether justified or not. “From the beginning,” he says. “Then he said that bankruptcy was not necessary at all. He was going to fix everything and pay everyone.” You will hear in this edition of Onder Curators how Muller failed to carry out this task.

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