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View Full Version : Last British carmaker to declare bankruptcy (DAMN IT!)



/////AMG
04-08-2005, 06:52 AM
Been following this for the last three days, this suck big time! The Chinese company fell through now I don't know whats going to happen.

Basically they need money and theresso much the gov't can give, and now with the elections god knows what will happen. More talks today... :cry: :cry:

No more british carmakers... :cry: :cry:

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The directors of MG Rover were forced to admit defeat at lunchtime, when they formally announced that they had appointed the accountants, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, as administrators for the ailing business.

The car maker's future and that of its 6,000 employees had been in turmoil overnight, following conflicting statements from the board of directors and government ministers over its status, raising false hopes that it could be salvaged as a going concern.

The company had spent the past six months in detailed negotiations with the Shanghai Automotive Corporation Industries, of China, and the UK Government, trying to secure a £1 billion takeover deal to salvage the 100-year business.

It was clear from the moment the Phoenix consortium bought Rover in 2000 that they would need to find an external 'White Knight', because they lacked the resources to continue much beyond four or five years. In this they failed, and the company has no future
Dominic O'Connell, Industry Editor, The Sunday Times
arrow The British car industry

But the deal was delayed over a £100 million bridging loan from the British Government, aimed at tiding over MG Rover until the Chinese had assumed control. When the loan failed to come through, suppliers, anxious about whether their bills would be paid, stopped providing component parts to the Longbridge factory, precipitating the crisis when production was halted on Thursday.

While Patricia Hewitt, the Trade and Industry Secretary, announced last night that the company had been put into receivership, the company confirmed only that it had asked PwC to advise on options.

The company stuck by its position this morning.

The company's options must have been severely, as PwC were appointed as administrators within hours of the earlier statement.

The events of the previous evening only fuelled speculation and confusion over the company's outlook.

Ms Hewitt maintained that she had been informed by John Tower, the head of the Phoenix consortium which owns MG Rover, at 9.20pm yesterday that the receivers were being called in. It had been made "absolutely clear" to herself and to Tony Woodley, the leader of the Transport and General Workers’ Union who has been closely involved in talks over the car marker’s future, that the company was being placed in receivership.
*

"We had no choice except to tell the workforce and the suppliers," Ms Hewitt told BBC Radio 4’s Today, before a visit to MG Rover's Longbridge plant in Birmingham. "They could not be kept in the dark any longer."

Mr Woodley also said that he was expecting MG Rover to be placed in administration. "We need to talk to the administrator who will inevitably be appointed later today," he said.

Administration and receivership, while both insolvency procedures, differ markedly in approach. While administration is aimed at protecting companies from their creditors while a restructuring plan is implemented and may allow the resurrection of a failed concern, receivership involves the sale of a business’s assets in an effort to meet debts.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has yet to confirm what action, if any, it will take at MG Rover. Although BMW, which sold Longbridge to Mr Tower’s Phoenix consortium in 2000, has retained rights to the Rover name, many accountants believe that the MG marque, which continues to brand a line of commercially successful sports cars, could be revived in a fresh venture.

While the Longbridge workers awaited for information on their futures, Ms Hewitt said that suppliers to the plant had already begun laying off staff. The Government announced a £40 million package to support the component makers, which employ an estimated 18,000 people.

The MG Rover crisis follows the failure to reach a rescue deal with the Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation. However, according to some reports, SAIC has said that talks with MG Rover are still ongoing.

Xtrema
04-08-2005, 07:05 AM
Sad to see it go but it's preety much natural selection.

hyperwhite
04-08-2005, 09:18 AM
its not the last british car company to die, TVR is still up and running

SwitchBlade
04-08-2005, 09:21 AM
Originally posted by hyperwhite
its not the last british car company to die, TVR is still up and running

I believe TVR was bought by a Russian millionaire

hyperwhite
04-08-2005, 09:26 AM
:dunno:

my bad then

Phy
04-08-2005, 09:30 AM
Well, what about Triumph Motorcycle?

SwitchBlade
04-08-2005, 09:34 AM
Sall good, I dont think it exactly went into bankruptcy

Link:

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=26&article_id=9149&page_number=1

MG was screwed over since BMW bought and sold ROVER.

/////AMG
04-08-2005, 10:38 AM
Originally posted by Phy
Well, what about Triumph Motorcycle?

Last British carmaker

TVR is doing good, that 23 yr. old russian millionaire bought it, glad he didn't make any changes! :thumbsup:

Foreign1
04-08-2005, 10:43 AM
there are no more british car makers? WOW, where the hell have i been for the last 18 years of my life?

DannyO
04-08-2005, 12:04 PM
Nooooooooooo:cry:

WTF, why doesn't a british millionaire buy one of these companies to keep them in business and keep them british, so many good companies and now there all owner by foreigners, there still are british car makers but they ain't as big as any that have been bought out.

/////AMG
04-15-2005, 03:47 PM
Well it's official! They are dead :cry:

How gay is that!!

Also read in the paper a certain MG Rover dealer was selling new cars for half price from £23,000 to £12,000!!

bspot
04-16-2005, 06:01 PM
Any suprise? Rovers are continually the worst vehicle lineup produced in terms of quality. No one ever buys a second Rover... how do you keep a company going when you scare off your customers?

ZorroAMG
04-16-2005, 06:26 PM
MG back in the day were only poor facsimilies of Alfa Romeos. No big loss, I will sleep ok tonight.

Mosquito_R
04-17-2005, 08:02 AM
It's sad to see MG Rover go. Yes, their mainstream products are nothing to write home about, but the MG cars are just at the point of getting really interesting... the SV-R and the ZT V8 in particular. They do stand out in a world crowded with me-too products. It's just very unfortunate that they lacked the financial support that will allow them to come up with a line of new cars.

I dunno why the talks with SAIC fell through. The MG Rover-SAIC partnership would be good to both makers as it would have meant that SAIC could finally produce cars of their own design rather than churning out BORING Buick Regals, GM minivans and Opel Corsas for China (all Buick-badged). The deal would also have allowed market exposure for SAIC outside of China.

Of course, I don't know how much the chairman and directors have taken, which leads to this government probe (http://www.cnn.com/2005/BUSINESS/04/16/mg.rover.probe.ap/index.html) .

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

hjr
04-26-2005, 02:09 PM
there havent been any british owned car manufactures in a little while. There are on the other hand british car makers. there are still a few brands make in britian.

Mosquito_R
04-26-2005, 03:05 PM
Actually MG Rover was British-owned following the transfer of ownership from BMW. They are the last MAJOR/mainstream British maker. The better-known specialty manufacturers that are still British owned are Caterham, Bristol, Morgan, Westfield... that's all I can think of.

It's a sad sight to see MG Rover's demise, but I guess what goes up must come down, and no matter how much goodwill there is, companies must come up with competitive products in order to survive...

/////AMG
04-27-2005, 05:01 AM
Atleast we still got Ariel :rofl: Not thats it's a real or proper car maker.

Atom 2 is out, it's insane!