Troubled platform UCars founded by group of dealers wound up on S$4 million debt

[SINGAPORE] Troubled local car portal UCars has been wound up, more than a year after it was revealed to be S$4 million in debt and owe salaries to former employees.

A letter sent to creditors on Monday and seen by The Business Times indicates the company was wound up pursuant to a court order dated Mar 20, with the reason being cash flow problems.

The letter, from appointed liquidator Seah Chee Wei of Rock Stevenson, further states that a creditor meeting via Zoom was fixed for May 8, 2026.

The letter indicates that the company’s total liabilities stood at S$4 million, with a deficit of S$3.9 million.

The book value of its assets – mostly “Other Assets” – are S$1.7 million, while the estimated realisable value of assets is S$90,070, which are mostly legal costs that have yet to be claimed.

An edition of the Government Gazette, dated Mar 13, stated that UCars director Hong Chun Mun filed a High Court application for the company to be wound up on Feb 23, 2026.

Former employees among those owed

A number of former employees who are still owed salaries attended the creditor meeting held on May 8.

In February 2024, UCars laid off the majority of its editorial team of about 10 people, with some of these former employees still owed salaries. The company closed its offices at Ayer Rajah Crescent and let go of its remaining employees in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Freelance journalist Ben Chia, 39, a former UCars employee, told BT: “The meeting laid out the process of liquidation. The liquidator informed us that a committee will be formed to see whether it is worth proceeding with the legal action to reclaim money. If the money is reclaimed, we may be able to be repaid.”

At the meeting, it was revealed that 21 United Holdings owed UCars S$90,070 in legal fees as a result of two court cases.

Court documents show that in 2024, 21 United Holdings sued UCars for around S$440,000 allegedly owed to it, but lost the case.

In 2025, UCars sued 21 United Holdings regarding an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) that sought to remove Hong as director of the company.

BT reported on the company’s S$4 million debt in January 2025, where an EGM was to be held on Feb 7 to pass a resolution on the company’s voluntary winding-up.

Around 60 creditors were named at the time, including former employees. Automotive financial services company Teck Wei Credit was the largest creditor, with around S$1.3 million owed. Other creditors included PY Opulence Investments, Black Kite Investments, One10 Food Sciences and HFC Ventures.

UCars arose in 2019 as a joint effort by around 40 car dealers to compete with Toyota-owned Sgcarmart as an online automotive marketplace and content portal.

The coalition of car dealers formed 21 United Holdings, a private limited company that was the former majority shareholder of UCars.

UCars later acquired the editorial brands and teams of the magazines CarBuyer and Top Gear Singapore, and became their publisher, with CarBuyer.com.sg becoming the main focus of its push.