Bob Jane files for bankruptcy

The latest chapter of the Bob Jane saga sees the former racing driver and founder of Australian tyre and fast fit chain Bob Jane T-Marts filing for bankruptcy. Queensland-based newspaper The Courier Mail writes that the former millionaire claims to have just AU$15 (less than £9) in cash to his name and a meagre collection of assets, including a Holden car. Jane’s creditors include the Australian Taxation Office, which seeks to recoup $105 million in capital gains tax still outstanding from the 2006 transfer of the Bob Jane T-Marts business to son Rodney Jane.

Details of bankruptcy papers published by The Courier Mail show Bob Jane to be encumbered with $67,000 in credit card debts, legal fees amounting to $208,000, Supreme Court costs of $560,000 and other miscellaneous debts, including a $2.5 million mortgage on his home, which has been valued at $2.2 million. The publication notes that his debts are in part counterbalanced by $5 million owed from AFJ Property Group and several hundred thousand dollars that Bob Jane Corporation allegedly owes him.

Bob Jane, who was born in 1929, has long claimed Rodney Jane wrested control of Bob Jane T-Marts from him during a period of ill health, however no evidence has been provided to support this assertion. The Courier Mail reports that the legal team working on Bob Jane’s behalf to regain the business has now begun to disband.