PwC administrators lined up for London taxi-maker
Manganese Bronze to call in administrators after funding talks collapse
PWC ADMINISTRATORS have been lined up at London’s black-cab-maker Manganese Bronze.
Accountancy Age understands that Mike Jervis, Matthew Hammond, Tony Barrell and Ian Green, all from PwC, are likely to be made administrators by Thursday.
Manganese has faced a number of issues in recent years, but the final straw has been the recall of cabs after the discovery of a steering fault. However, the company said recalling the products relating the fault would remain a top priority throughout the administration.
In August the cab-maker discovered an accounting black hole of nearly £4m, which it put down to a failure to transfer a number of transactions to its new IT system. This made it overstate stock and understate liabilities.
The company said that discussions to secure funding for the business have failed.
“A speedy resolution of the product recall announced on 12 October 2012 relating to the discovery of a steering box fault remains the top priority for the group and will continue to do so throughout the administration process,” the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.
Manganese has had a turbulent time in recent years, including its owner, Geely, deciding against taking a larger equity holding in the business in 2010. Falling sales have also been a big concern for the company.