Al Melling Plans to keep TVR British

Al Melling Plans to keep TVR British

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Mr.Cerbera

5,031 posts

229 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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(red-faced-holding-breath-in-hope)

Derek Smith

45,512 posts

247 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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gridgway said:
so, if I understand...this is incompatible with NS' stated plan to set up production elsewhere? So if noone has the wherewithall to buy the business, then that will be the end of TVR?
Graham
The TVR badge is too valuable an asset not to be sold. PKF(UK) are doing an ebay and are working out what the badge is worth on the open market. Plus, of course, the other assets - moulds, tooling and such.

PKF will sell it, but to the bidder who gives them the best return: that's their remit. They have no interest in which stands the best chance of making a success of the purchase. Indeed, one would think that the person who bids most has the least chance as they would have overvalued it. They have no need, and one would assume would be proscribed by law, to consider keeping it in Blackpool.

One would assume that there would be certain negotiations as bidders might be interested in various items/resources. the badge is the thing, of course, but one wonders if the rights to the Speed 6 are included. It was very noticeable by its absence in the listings. They might be selling the rights to build it as a separate entity or it might not be part of the BA assets. Who knows?

Whatever, this is an extremely worrying time for TVR. It's gone through some sticky periods in the past but having the assets on the open market, up for purchase by whoever has the deepest pockets, is not good. Imagine it being bought by General Motors or some other corporation. How about a badge engineered Merc SLK? The stuff nightmares are made of.


Uncle Bulgaria

980 posts

229 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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Derek Smith said:


Whatever, this is an extremely worrying time for TVR. It's gone through some sticky periods in the past but having the assets on the open market, up for purchase by whoever has the deepest pockets, is not good. Imagine it being bought by General Motors or some other corporation. How about a badge engineered Merc SLK? The stuff nightmares are made of.




god i hope not, very worrying like you said.

whatever

2,174 posts

269 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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Derek Smith said:
Whatever, this is an extremely worrying time for TVR. It's gone through some sticky periods in the past but having the assets on the open market, up for purchase by whoever has the deepest pockets, is not good. Imagine it being bought by General Motors or some other corporation. How about a badge engineered Merc SLK? The stuff nightmares are made of.

You're right, but I don't think it's quite the same as (for example) when Volkswagen bought Lamborghini.

In some respects, I don't really see what a larger manufacturer would gain by simply applying the TVR badge/name to one of its own products. TVRs stand for much more than "sports car", in that they have implied a certain engine configuration, chassis/bodywork construction technique and noise / performance / power-to-weight characteristics that other mainstream manufacturers simply don't match up to. So, to take the name and simply badge up a top-end version of an existing range wouldn't (imo) really achieve much - particularly as the TVR brand is only really known within the UK and in overseas markets wouldn't really mean much anyway (a point raised several times on PH with respect to NS's plans to re-locate overseas and sell the Typhoon to new markets).

Of course, the TVR brand carries a certain degree of baggage too, which a mainstream manufacturer might not be willing to load onto one of its own cars. Again, this is something which Volkswagen had to do when they took on Skoda, but they kept it as a separate brand (albeit sharing platforms with their other brands) and had to spend an awful lot of money on advertising to overcome that brands unfortunate image.

Jappo

1,120 posts

208 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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I'm with the PLEASE PLEASE let it be true brigade on this one. But I'll go further and be the first one to post that if it happens I will be ordering one of Mr Melling's cars immediately.

Who's with me - ços this is what counts more than anything else for the future of TVR?

P.S. Pls pass this to Al.

unrepentant

21,212 posts

255 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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whatever said:
Derek Smith said:
Whatever, this is an extremely worrying time for TVR. It's gone through some sticky periods in the past but having the assets on the open market, up for purchase by whoever has the deepest pockets, is not good. Imagine it being bought by General Motors or some other corporation. How about a badge engineered Merc SLK? The stuff nightmares are made of.

You're right, but I don't think it's quite the same as (for example) when Volkswagen bought Lamborghini.

In some respects, I don't really see what a larger manufacturer would gain by simply applying the TVR badge/name to one of its own products. TVRs stand for much more than "sports car", in that they have implied a certain engine configuration, chassis/bodywork construction technique and noise / performance / power-to-weight characteristics that other mainstream manufacturers simply don't match up to. So, to take the name and simply badge up a top-end version of an existing range wouldn't (imo) really achieve much - particularly as the TVR brand is only really known within the UK and in overseas markets wouldn't really mean much anyway (a point raised several times on PH with respect to NS's plans to re-locate overseas and sell the Typhoon to new markets).

Of course, the TVR brand carries a certain degree of baggage too, which a mainstream manufacturer might not be willing to load onto one of its own cars. Again, this is something which Volkswagen had to do when they took on Skoda, but they kept it as a separate brand (albeit sharing platforms with their other brands) and had to spend an awful lot of money on advertising to overcome that brands unfortunate image.


Also TVR sells a few hundred cars a year in one market and is relatively unknown outside the UK. I can't see any major manufacturer being interested.

Derek Smith

45,512 posts

247 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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My research indicates that, far from being unknown in foreign climes, TVR has quite a following abroad. The only thing holding them back is the lack of LHD. There's no doubt that the Tuscan race series, or its televising, generated a fair bit of interest and in certain countries there are active clubs - Holland, Germany, USA and, to a certain extent, Italy particularly. A big company should be able to translate this into sales.

One would assume that, in the early stages, if the new purchasers of the badge are starting from scratch they will have to start consertively and one or two hundred cars a year in the UK would be the target. If the product is right, and at the right price, this is well within range. Where it goes from there is anyone's guess but there are opportunities in the EU for low volume specialist sports cars. But that's for some time in the future.

If I were the new owner, I'd honour the warranties as a gesture of good faith. That'd get a lot of positive comment and, given the dreadful sales numbers over the last couple of years, shouldn't cost too much.

supertans

187 posts

219 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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Being a relative newbie to TVR ownership, 'scuse my obvious ignorance, but who is Al Melling ?

ntel

5,051 posts

239 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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supertans said:
Being a relative newbie to TVR ownership, 'scuse my obvious ignorance, but who is Al Melling ?


Basically Dave he is the "A" in AJP

GreenV8S

30,149 posts

283 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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Derek Smith said:
The TVR badge is too valuable an asset not to be sold. PKF(UK) are doing an ebay and are working out what the badge is worth on the open market. Plus, of course, the other assets - moulds, tooling and such.


I can't get my head round this. Can anyone explain how many bits of TVR are there, which ones were sold and then ceased trading, which ones own the trademark rights, which ones are this advert about? Slowly using small worlds please. I thought the company had been split up and part of it was being kept alive allegedly to start production abroad, so it is BA or that remaining bit or both that are offered for sale now? If it's both, how does that work given that BA had already been sold off, stabbed in the back and ceased trading?

zumbruk

7,848 posts

259 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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gridgway said:
so, if I understand...this is incompatible with NS' stated plan to set up production elsewhere?


Did anyone actually *believe* him? I sure-as-shit didn't, Unless someone buys it, TVR is *gone*.

tubbystu

3,846 posts

259 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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GreenV8S said:
Derek Smith said:
The TVR badge is too valuable an asset not to be sold. PKF(UK) are doing an ebay and are working out what the badge is worth on the open market. Plus, of course, the other assets - moulds, tooling and such.


I can't get my head round this. Can anyone explain how many bits of TVR are there, which ones were sold and then ceased trading, which ones own the trademark rights, which ones are this advert about? Slowly using small worlds please. I thought the company had been split up and part of it was being kept alive allegedly to start production abroad, so it is BA or that remaining bit or both that are offered for sale now? If it's both, how does that work given that BA had already been sold off, stabbed in the back and ceased trading?



I think ( and please feel free to correct me.....)

The recent history is that in early 2006 TVR Engineering was split into three companies - Production ie BA, Sales & Marketing. BA then was sold and went into immediate receivership.

Its BA that is for sale, though quite what its assests exactly are - brand, badge, moulds etc if anything has been open to some discussion.

Considered (I guess) opinion on here hopes and believes NS may not have retained rights to brand / badge. This is slightly backed up by PFK (the receivers) including it in the list of items for interested parties in BA to consider as part of the package of BA as a going concern.

johnbear

1,567 posts

234 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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Just so I understand it.

The ads states

"TVR trade marks for the UK, EU & US"

So, NS buys TVR, runs it into the ground losing £40 mil according to Sunday times, sells all parts sales rights to Dom at Power.

He then intends to set up production abroad using the TVR brand and current models. To faciliate this genius idea, he lumps production into BA and places it into liquidation with the help of Dad, whilst he and David of Loxley sail off to markets new.

However, liquidators kindly point out the assets i.e TVR brand, IP and current model belong to them. They post them for sales for a bargin £18 mil!

So what does boy wonder own? David of Loxley, a CAD drawing of wonder car and a revised SP6 engine designs from Ricardo (plus bill for works)

The only persons who seems to have come out of this whole thing on top are Wheeler, good old Dom, oh and the liquidators.

Suely there a film in this. How I lost £40 million in a blackpool.


Pasco

6,652 posts

227 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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Am i the only person with Troll Alarms ringing on this Topic guys ?

yellt350t

2,561 posts

212 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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so blackpool did get a super casino

Size Nine Elm

5,167 posts

283 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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steve-p said:
Larco said:
You got a point .
Rick Wakeman is a director of the Melling consortium so I maybe be can do some impromptu Yes numbers such as 'Close to the edge' and 'wonderous stories' to name but a few. bow

And let's not forget "A New Beginning"... or maybe "A Road to Ruin" laugh

I was thinking more along the lines of "The Gates Of Delerium".

Closely followed by "Future Times" - and then, obviously, "Machine Messiah".

Unless its really "Machine He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy".

ssavill

287 posts

225 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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i have to say - if Mr Melling does pull this off - i will go in feet first - get a brand new one...

thomr

188 posts

232 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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Pasco said:
Am i the only person with Troll Alarms ringing on this Topic guys ?


You're not the only one. I would like to have seen something more substantial about this miraculous rescue bid.

Daftlad

3,324 posts

240 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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All quite ironic really.

dmax

178 posts

235 months

Saturday 3rd February 2007
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Derek Smith said:
My research indicates that, far from being unknown in foreign climes, TVR has quite a following abroad. The only thing holding them back is the lack of LHD.



LHD, that was just a VERY small part of the problem! engine not Euro4, car not Euro4...crash test, ABS...??? thats was another story.