MG Rover pay delay branded “ludicrous”

Apr 15 2009 by Jon Griffin, Birmingham Mail

But the £16 million already generated by the sale of Studley Castle and the dealerships currently lies untouched in a PVH bank account.

A spokesman for Phoenix Venture Holdings said: “PVH is still a solvent company, is still a trading company and still has liabilities.

“It would be breaking the law if it started giving money away when it still has creditors.”

It is understood that the inspectors have yet to enter the final stage of the inquiry. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform said a deadline for completion of the report was not “practical or realistic.”

Peter Luff, Conservative chairman of the Business Select Committee, said: “Every penny spent on this long drawn-out inquiry is money that would much better have been spent on developing green technology for Britain’s motor manufacturers.”

But a political source said the inquiry could be delayed until after the next General Election.

“It is not beyond the realms of possibility that this has been kicked into the long grass. The Government’s role in the collapse of MG Rover could be potentially embarrassing.”

Around 6,500 workers lost their jobs in April 2005 when Longbridge crashed into insolvency with debts of £1.4 billion.