Coventry automotive prototyping specialist enters administration...

[dutchman]

HPL Prototypes Limited, a specialist automotive coachwork and prototyping company based in Allesley, Coventry, was placed into administration on 3 March 2026. Joint administrators Tyrone Courtman and Gareth Harris of RSM UK Restructuring Advisory LLP were appointed through the High Court of Justice.

The company produces concept cars, show vehicles, and prototype components for prestigious automotive brands including McLaren, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus, and Gordon Murray Automotive. HPL employs 68 people according to its most recent filed accounts for the year ending 30 September 2023.

The accounts for that period show estimated turnover of £7.3 million, net assets of £713,937, and a cash balance of just £192. The company carried total liabilities of £3.7 million against total assets of £4.4 million.

HPL Prototypes operates from Windmill Industrial Estate in Allesley, Coventry, a site with engineering heritage stretching back to the 1930s. The facility's history includes aeronautics work on Supermarine Spitfire engine components in the 1930s, and was home to the Rover and Triumph racing development team in the 1950s.

In the 1980s, the site was taken over by MGA Developments, which produced concepts including the Bentley Java, Ford Escort RS Cosworth, and the original McLaren F1 concept car. It was subsequently used by Lotus to deliver prototypes including the Elise and Opel Speedster in the 1990s, before HPL Prototypes took ownership in 2000.

The company blends traditional handcrafting and modelling skills with digital manufacturing and virtual design techniques. Its capabilities include concept and show car design, prototype build and engineering, clay modelling, composites manufacture through its own carbon fibre centre, CNC multi-axis milling, and additive manufacturing.

In late 2023, HPL launched a new offshoot brand called Allesley, aimed at bespoke luxury coachbuilding for ultra-high-net-worth private clients. The venture was led by CEO Paul Abercrombie alongside HPL CEO Chris Devane, with plans to deliver 30 bespoke vehicles in its first five years.

This is not the first time the company has experienced financial distress. HPL Prototypes previously entered a Corporate Voluntary Arrangement in June 2004, which was managed by RSM Robson Rhodes LLP (now RSM UK) and ran until its completion in September 2008.

The company's most recent accounts showed several critical indicators prior to the administration. Suppliers were being paid after an average of 177 days, more than three times the industry average of 53 days. Trade creditors of £2.94 million were nearly double trade debtors of £1.55 million at September 2023.

Despite strong revenue growth of 23 per cent over three years, HPL's gross margin of 16.7 per cent was below the industry average of 24.2 per cent, whilst its operating margin of 1.2 per cent compared unfavourably to the sector norm of 6.2 per cent.

The company is owned by H Developments Limited, with Christopher Devane serving as sole director since November 2018. Companies House records show nine charges registered against HPL Prototypes Limited, of which five remain outstanding.

The administration comes just weeks after Coventry MP Taiwo Owatemi visited HPL Prototypes in January 2026, praising the company's "incredible innovation" and "highly skilled workforce."

https://www.business-sale.com/news/administration/coventry-automotive-prototyping-specialist-enters-administration-228909