Monday, November 30, 2009
Former Rover bosses pay back £3m
The company owned by the ex-bosses of MG Rover has paid back some of the millions of pounds taken out of the car maker, the BBC has learned.
Phoenix Venture Holdings, the firm owned by the so-called "Phoenix Four", paid £3m to the liquidator almost five years after the firm's collapse.
It is understood it agreed an out-of-court settlement after investigations by inspectors and liquidators.
The Longbridge-based firm collapsed in 2005, with the loss of 6,000 jobs.
'Agreement reached'
When the so-called Pheonix Four were in charge of MG Rover, some of the car maker's assets were effectively transferred to Phoenix Venture Holdings (PVH).
In September, a report into MG Rover's collapse revealed a number of transactions that liquidators and inspectors have been looking into.
BBC Midlands Today transport correspondent Peter Plisner said a report compiled by the MG Rover liquidator "clearly shows a payment of £3m which I understand has come directly from PVH."
A statement from PVH said: "All inter-company transfers were approved by the company's accountants and professional advisers and were part of normal business."
It also confirmed that "negotiations with liquidators regarding the transfers" had taken place and that "an agreement has been reached which will further benefit creditors of MG Rover".
The government-commissioned report found the bosses had awarded themselves pay and pensions worth £42m, which was described by inspectors as "out of all proportion".
In September, the long-awaited report into the collapse of the UK's last major car firm said its bosses had given themselves "unreasonably large" pay-outs.
However, the executives described the report, which cost £16m, as a "witch-hunt" and a "whitewash for the government".
The Serious Fraud Office previously said it did not intend to begin a criminal investigation into the collapse of MG Rover.
DATED: 30.11.09
FEED: AW
