Investigative Report: Affairs of MG Rover Group & Phoenix Venture Holdings etc

[Canonite]

So I stumbled across this by accident while researching the history of my car, but became totally engrossed in the details of it. We already know much about how it all went belly up for MG Rover, but how much of the actual story became public and how much of it was swept under the carpet?

Where was the monies spent? What about the donations, grants and asset sales?

This report was carried out by the Department of Business Innovation & Skills, who were appointed by the Secretary Of State for Trade & Industry on 31st May 2005 to investigate the affairs of Phoenix Venture Holdings, MG Rover Group and 33 other sub-companies.
It's extremely detailed and a bit geeky but those who have a strong connection to the brand or companies, it makes both interesting reading but also questions how it was allowed to become so disarrayed.

Anyway, enjoy (PDF):

http://im.ft-static.com/content/imag...144feabdc0.pdf

[MSS]

Sadly, this report (which I have read before) highlights the main failing in our system - we employ highly paid people to investigate failure after the event and apportion blame.

The Department of Bsiness Innovation and Skills should have been advising MGR management from the time that it was acquired from BMW. It should have been lobbying government departments for financial and other support e.g. working with creditors and suppliers' insurers to continue supporting the business.

[planenut]

Where were they when the Romans invaded?

[MSS]

Originally Posted by planenut

Where were they when the Romans invaded?

What a ridiculous question.

The department heads were engaged in important government business - they were in the Bahamas at a joint working party meeting with another government department to discuss their evolving strategy for the terms of engagement, roles and responsibilities in planning the Christmas outing!

[wraymond]

Curious about Dept. for Business, Innovation and Skills and how they would have been involved.

IFIRC the department was not inaugurated until 2009 and managed by Peter Mandelson, Vince Cable and Sajid Javid, none of whom were notable entrepreneurs anyway. One went on to be sacked from government (twice), another failed Economics when in coalition and the other sank without impressing. The sticky bit was the involvement of BMW from the start.

[MSS]

The function existed prior to 2009 under different names.

"The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government created on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)"

[Canonite]

Given the potential impact of the collapse of Rover Group, the subsequent sale from BMW should have been heavily backed by the Government in the first instance, or at the very least monitored the transition to ensure it didn't fall further out of control.

Look at the ways in which the Government have helped finance other marques when UK jobs were threatened. Look at the way the banks were bailed out to the tune of billions.

There was an opportunity to retain the last British mass production car maker, yet as soon as PVH were given the green light everyone took a back seat while it was destroyed.
Granted, it was a sinking ship thanks to decades of mismanagement but I think it was sinful for a Government to sit back and watch as over 10,000 people became unemployed and small companies folded.

[wraymond]

Originally Posted by Canonite

Given the potential impact of the collapse of Rover Group, the subsequent sale from BMW should have been heavily backed by the Government in the first instance, or at the very least monitored the transition to ensure it didn't fall further out of control.

Look at the ways in which the Government have helped finance other marques when UK jobs were threatened. Look at the way the banks were bailed out to the tune of billions.

There was an opportunity to retain the last British mass production car maker, yet as soon as PVH were given the green light everyone took a back seat while it was destroyed.
Granted, it was a sinking ship thanks to decades of mismanagement but I think it was sinful for a Government to sit back and watch as over 10,000 people became unemployed and small companies folded.

Spot on.
At the same time as allowing, by the devious method of turning a blind eye and nodding through, the wholesale disposal of strategic manufacturing businesses to foreign competitors thereby ensuring those businesses would eventually fail once a competitor had been asset stripped and rendered defunct. It is happening right now, on a much larger scale. Rail transport, shipping, energy production et al.

[wraymond]

Originally Posted by mss

The function existed prior to 2009 under different names.

"The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government created on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)"

Yes, that's the Wikipedia definition of it. To avoid confusion, the unpalatable truth is somewhat more labyrinthine, even under the correct title.

Edit: There is, however, a very minor saving grace. But not much of one. With successive changes in government (non-capitalised) those with hands on the levers of power have been forced to address the debacle with a bit more of a beady eye. Hopefully.

[MSS]

The point I was making was that the functions existed prior to 2009.