London cab maker no longer viable firm
Source: Bloomberg News |
October 23, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MANGANESE Bronze Holdings Plc, the maker of London's iconic black taxis, will try to restructure its operations in administration after failing to secure the necessary money to continue production.
"Discussions with various parties to secure funding on acceptable terms to address the group's financial needs have proved unsuccessful," the company said in a statement yesterday. "The board has therefore concluded that the group is no longer a going concern."
Manganese, which has built more than 100,000 taxis since 1948, struck a deal in 2006 with Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd to buy components and body parts from the Chinese company in Asia for assembly in the UK. The tie-up was intended to help cut costs and ensure the UK firm's long-term survival.
The black taxis, known as Hackney cabs because of their origin as carriages drawn by French Haquenee horses, feature 25-foot turning circles, as required by London's Public Carriage Office in the early 20th century, to enable exits from taxi-waiting queues in the middle of the street or tight spaces such as the Savoy hotel forecourt.
Trading of the shares was suspended on October 12 when Manganese announced a taxi recall, prompted by a fault in the steering box. The company has forecast it will sell more vehicles this year overseas than at home for the first time, after selling 1,502 in the UK and 705 abroad in 2011.
Manganese shares stood at 10 pence at the close of trading on October 11, before the suspension, and have fallen 69 percent this year, giving the company a market value of 3 million pounds (US$4.8 million).
The automaker's priority remains resolving the recall of 400 London taxis, the Coventry, England-based company said in the statement.
Geely took a 20 percent stake in the British company and holds rights to sell the black cabs in China and some other Asian markets.
"Discussions with various parties to secure funding on acceptable terms to address the group's financial needs have proved unsuccessful," the company said in a statement yesterday. "The board has therefore concluded that the group is no longer a going concern."
Manganese, which has built more than 100,000 taxis since 1948, struck a deal in 2006 with Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd to buy components and body parts from the Chinese company in Asia for assembly in the UK. The tie-up was intended to help cut costs and ensure the UK firm's long-term survival.
The black taxis, known as Hackney cabs because of their origin as carriages drawn by French Haquenee horses, feature 25-foot turning circles, as required by London's Public Carriage Office in the early 20th century, to enable exits from taxi-waiting queues in the middle of the street or tight spaces such as the Savoy hotel forecourt.
Trading of the shares was suspended on October 12 when Manganese announced a taxi recall, prompted by a fault in the steering box. The company has forecast it will sell more vehicles this year overseas than at home for the first time, after selling 1,502 in the UK and 705 abroad in 2011.
Manganese shares stood at 10 pence at the close of trading on October 11, before the suspension, and have fallen 69 percent this year, giving the company a market value of 3 million pounds (US$4.8 million).
The automaker's priority remains resolving the recall of 400 London taxis, the Coventry, England-based company said in the statement.
Geely took a 20 percent stake in the British company and holds rights to sell the black cabs in China and some other Asian markets.
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