Group 20, the supercar club for City and Canary Wharf weekend boy-racers, could be wound up in the High Court next month after an investigation by the Government's Companies Investigation Branch.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has signed off a petition for the High Court to wind up Group 20 and related companies in the public interest.

The move follows months of investigation into Group 20 and its associate, Vehicle Options, by the CIB — the arm of the Insolvency Service which investigates complaints against companies ranging from improprieties to fraud.

Group 20, run by Kent businessman Gary Franklin, collapsed at the height of the banking crisis last autumn as many of its customers were being laid off in the City and Canary Wharf.

The CIB is believed to have launched its investigation after complaints by franchisees who signed up with Franklin.

Supercar clubs sprang up during the boom years, giving people the chance to drive anything from the 7.3-litre Pagani Zonda through to Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Aston Martins and Porsches, without the attendant worry of ownership and insurance costs.

However, many of the clubs — including P1 International set up by ex-Formula 1 champion Damon Hill — have gone bust.

A group of disaffected Group 20 franchisees have voiced their grievances on a website in which several complain they have lost tens of thousands of pounds with Franklin.

The website includes a posting from an ex-franchisee from Cambridge, reading: “I came from a financial background and did some quite thorough research before buying my franchise.

“Gary Franklin is a very persuasive person and convinced me that we would all make a lot of money and that he had several million pounds of backing from major institutions. I lost over £40,000 in under 12 months.”

A spokesman for the CIB declined to comment ahead of the winding up petition.

Supercar clubs have been scuppered not only by a fall in demand but also by the plunging values of the motors.

Hill — who retired from Formula 1 in 1999 and whose business is not linked with Group 20 — is reckoned to be a substantial financial loser over his own venture's demise. He is suing P1 International in the High Court in an attempt to recover assets.