The decision was taken after the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills studied the findings of independent inspectors. Their report is the result of an inspection set up by the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry after MGRG, the manufacturer of Rover and MG cars, went into administration on April 8, 2005.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said today: “There has been a comprehensive and thorough investigation into the events which led to the company failing, workers losing their jobs and creditors not getting paid. The SFO must now see if there are grounds for prosecution.”
The Inspectors investigated the affairs of MGRG, its parent company Phoenix Venture Holdings (PVH) and MGR Capital Limited and 32 related companies between the purchase of MGRG from BMW in May 2000 and the date of it entering administration.
The Inspectors delivered their report on 11 June 2009. Following legal advice the Rover Report will not be published at this time in order to ensure any potential prosecution is not prejudiced. The position will be reviewed following the outcome of the SFO’s considerations.
Notes to editors
1. The Inspectors were appointed under Section 432 of the Companies Act by then Trade and Industry Secretary Alan Johnson and had wide powers to require documents and the attendance of witnesses, including directors, officers and agents of the company.
2. The Inspectors were Guy Newey QC of Maitland Chambers, Lincolns Inn and Gervase MacGregor FCA of BDO Stoy Hayward. Guy Newey was called to the Bar in 1982 and took silk in 2001. He has been Junior Counsel to the Crown (Chancery) to the Charity Commission. He had acted as a DTI inspector. Gervase MacGregor qualified as an accountant in 1986 and became partner in 1991, and head of Litigation Support and Forensic Accounting Department of Stoy Hayward in 1994. He is a member of the British Academy of Experts, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the ICAEW's Fraud Advisory Panel.