TVR seeks £25m investment to fund Griffith production

TVR is attempting to raise fresh capital in order to take its reborn Griffith sports car to production, having outlined to investors a plan for adding new derivatives and even future-proofing the model for the electric age.

There have been no public updates from the company since March, when it confirmed that a planning application had been submitted to Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council for refurbishing a factory on an industrial estate in Ebbw Vale, South Wales.

The building is to be turned around by the Welsh government before being leased to TVR. When contacted by Autocar, the council said a decision on planning approval still hasn’t been made.

The Welsh government told BBC News earlier this year that the site would become TVR’s factory only once the company could prove that it had raised the capital needed to start car production.

TVR chairman Les Edgar previously claimed that factory delays were the result of European Union bureaucracy caused by the Welsh government’s involvement.

Company accounts published in March reveal that TVR is owed more than £8.23 million from debtors, has net assets of just over £2.1m and, despite having road-registered one Griffith earlier this year, has no listed employees beyond company directors. TVR must also pay off a £2m loan from the Welsh government and a £3m loan from financial firm Fiduciam Nominees.

Despite TVR’s directors revealing a requirement for additional funding via securitisation bonds and insisting they “have no particular reason to expect that such funding will not be secured”, auditors stated that a “material uncertainty exists that may cast doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”.

TVR is attempting to raise £25m by issuing bonds on the Dublin stock exchange through Irish firm Audacia Capital, having been unsuccessful with London-based Pello Capital.

It’s believed that all of that sum is required to take the Griffith through to production and tool the Ebbw Vale factory. Autocar understands that TVR is now predominantly targeting enthusiast investors who understand the brand, its history and its Blackpool roots.