Our stories
A decade of work pays dividends for MG Rover creditors
A decade of work by liquidators at PwC pursuing the recovery of funds from an overseas group company has seen the distribution of a further £56.1m to creditors of two of the main employer companies of the MG Rover group.
Setting the scene
MG Rover Group Limited and Powertrain were two of MG Rover’s main employer companies, with around 6,000 people working for them in the Midlands. After the Group went into administration in 2005, those jobs were lost and partners from PwC were appointed as administrators. The process converted into a liquidation in March 2006.
PwC remains in office and continues to pursue a number of claims which could lead to further recoveries for unsecured creditors.
How we helped
PwC has been working with the German liquidator to recover monies owed to MG Rover group. Our teams have persevered through negotiations with the German liquidator to enable further realisations in late 2018.
This led to a significant pay out from Germany, enabling two payments totalling £56.1m to unsecured creditors. These included former employees of MG Rover Group Limited (a dividend of 6.3p in the pound) and Powertrain, a part of the MG Rover group which manufactured engines and gearboxes, who received 4.74p in the pound.
The first of these landed on doormats just before Christmas 2018.
“The collapse of MG Rover had a significant impact on the supply chain and perhaps most importantly employees, their families and communities. Our teams working on this case have brought to life one of our key purposes of solving important problems - in this case the size and complexity of the MG Rover Group, and enabling a significant return to creditors.”
Making a difference
The significant further realisations in late 2018 mean we are able to distribute additional monies to MG Rover and Powertrain creditors, which is a great result at this stage of a liquidation process for former employees and suppliers.
The size and complexity of the MG Rover liquidation has been challenging, but we have returned several times more to creditors than was expected at the outset. For example, we have now returned over 16p in the pound to creditors of MG Rover Group Limited, compared to the 5p that was estimated at the start, and almost 40p in the pound to Powertrain creditors.
Including the latest payment, more than £130m has been distributed to MG Rover Group creditors since PwC was appointed in 2005, and £43.7m to Powertrain.
Over a decade of work on this complex and high-profile insolvency has demonstrated how our teams live our purpose of solving important problems. We are proud of the difference our work to pursue recoveries has made for creditors, including several thousand former employees, by continuing to give recompense to the families and communities affected.