Since his takeover of Aston Martin Lagonda, Lawrence Stroll has been accused by some for using ‘devious’ methods to get his work done.
Naturally, when an individual accrues the sort of wealth that Lawrence has done over the years, some bridges would have been burnt.
Aston Martin is, of course, currently facing chaos surrounding declining share prices and legal battles with a partner company over their Valkyrie project.
The Valkyrie project was marketed by Aston Martin as a one-of-a-kind hypercar that caught the attention of many, including Red Bull F1 drivers Max Verstappen and Alex Albon, who even took it out for a spin on the Silverstone track.
However, the project soon took a turn for the worse when Red Bull pulled out of the partnership, and Aston Martin entered into an agreement with Nebula Project to manufacture the Valkyrie.
Nebula had agreed to underwrite the entire development cost of up to $100 million in exchange for a 4% royalty on all future sales of the mid-engined models of the car.
The deal was reportedly worth $350 million.
But when Stroll pulled out of the project, the legal claim for damages and compensation for the cancellation of the agreement came down to $190 million.
Business F1 reported that Stroll secretly made a pre-emptive challenge in court to have Nebula declared bankrupt as he looked to escape from paying the entire sum.
However, the sitting judge dismissed the claims, and it is unclear on what basis Stroll tried to declare Nebula insolvent.
Under the previous chairman, Andy Palmer, Aston Martin had signed a deal with Nebula, which was supposed to receive 4% in royalties for the sale of the hypercar.
After Stroll took over, to prevent the company’s share prices from falling further, he went on a cost-cutting spree and issued a press release stating that the company was no longer liable for the royalty payment and decided to end the contract unilaterally.
This led to chaos regarding the manufacturing of the hypercar, refunding customers who had made an advance booking, and the release date of the car.
This is, of course, not the first time that Lance Stroll has been caught in the midst of doing a ‘shady transaction’.
Business F1 has reported that Stroll has been trying to wipe Nebula “from the face of the earth” ever since.
The chaos surrounding the Valkyrie project has brought nothing but suspicious eyes on Aston Martin’s declining share prices and the legal battles with Nebula.