AMP Advisory & Management Partners AG v Force India Formula One Team Ltd (in liquidation)

The High Court has given judgment in a contractual and restitutionary claim arising out of an alleged agency relationship in the Formula 1 industry.

The Defendant (“Force India”) was until its entry into administration the operator of a Formula 1 team. It was sponsored by BWT AG (“BWT”), an Austrian water technology company. The Claimant (“AMP”) is a Liechtenstein company, which claimed that it had brokered the BWT sponsorship agreement as Force India’s agent.

AMP alleged (i) that it had concluded a contract of agency with Force India, either orally or on the terms of certain drafts that passed between the parties; and (ii) that pursuant to this alleged contract it was entitled to approximately €3.9m, by way of a percentage commission on all sums that Force India received from BWT. AMP also claimed, in the alternative, that it was entitled to the same sum by way of a restitutionary quantum meruit payment, to reflect the value of services that it alleged that it had rendered to Force India.

Moulder J dismissed AMP’s primary case, finding that no agency contract had been concluded. She also found that the services that AMP had provided to Force India were much less extensive than claimed; in particular, the BWT sponsorship opportunity had been introduced to Force India by a third party, and not by AMP. Moulder J assessed the value of the services that AMP in fact provided at £150,000, i.e. less than 5% of the amount claimed at the start of the trial.

James Segan and George Molyneaux acted for Force India, instructed by Solesbury Gay.

A full copy of the judgment can be found here.