R3 backs KPMG in Land Rover conflict
R3, the association of business recovery professionals, has attacked the misuse of power by big business against small suppliers and backed KPMG in its receivership conflict with Land Rover.
The Big Five firm is the receiver for Midlands car parts supplier UPF and has been attempting to force Land Rover into making an upfront payment of £45m for UPF to deliver chassis for the company’s Discovery model – a request it has furiously rejected.
David Buchler, vice-president of R3 claims KPMG is simply maximising returns for creditors while Ford – Land Rover’s owner – is reaping the rewards of being able to ‘aggressively manipulate their relationships with component or service providers’.
According to Buchler the aggressive action of Land Rover is part of a trend that is ‘damaging’ for the rescue prospects of British businesses.
Casting doubt on Land Rover’s claims of being a ‘victim’ in the debacle, Buchler said: ‘It is undoubtedly true that insolvency practitioners in these circumstances will negotiate as aggressively as they can. It is less often true that the customer is the victim in these circumstances.’
A spokesman for KPMG commented that it feels its actions are justified. A Land Rover spokesman said: ‘Land Rover is not connected with UPF’s failure. We’ve been an excellent customer.’
