MG's sports division under threat
MG Rover's sports car division cannot escape financial crisis, as it falls into the hands of the administrators.
MG Rover was plunged into further uncertainty late last night as administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers announced that the car manufacturer’s sports division, MG Sport and Racing Ltd, had gone into administration.
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Steven Pearson and Rob Hunt, both partners at the accounting firm, were appointed joint administrators of MGSR ‘at the request of the company’s directors’, a PwC statement read.
MGSR is part of the Phoenix venture holdings group, as is MG Rover group and Powertrain, which were placed into administration last Friday 8 April. MGSR builds and sells the MG SV high-performance car and leads the MG Group’s motor sports activities. However, it is a stand-alone business operating from an independent site at Longbridge, employing 48 staff.
Despite MG Rover’s fading chances of survival, Pearson said he remained confident of a sale for MGSR. ‘Significant investment has been made in the MG SV, and sales of the car have recently commenced.
‘There is an immediate opportunity for an investor to acquire a niche car manufacturer that has unique design and production capabilities.
‘We are currently exploring how the company can be restructured, and are keen to hear from anyone who is able to take the business forward,’ he said.
PwC also made a statement earlier this morning acknowledging the ‘difficulties’ faced by Rover’s dealership network, as well as the existing warranties owned by Rover customers under administration.
It said it had written to ‘all dealers’ on Tuesday morning to explain the ‘impact of the administration on the dealer network’ but that after a review of Rover’s warranty arrangements it found that it ‘no longer had sufficient funds to reimburse warranties’.
Hunt added: ‘We’re aware that historically MG Rover has reimbursed repairers and authorised dealers the cost of valid warranty claims. ‘However, following our appointment as joint administrators the company no longer has sufficient funds to reimburse warranties.
‘Should customers wish to purchase warranty cover in the marketplace a number of alternative providers are available. Most dealers will be able to advise customers on how they could obtain this cover.’