Manganese Bronze calls in administrators

Manganese Bronze, the maker of London's black cabs, has called in administrators Grant Thornton after saying it is no longer a going concern.

In a statement the company said: "The board remains hopeful that the fundamental strengths of the company, the TX4 model and its global reputation will provide the platform for a successful business in the future."

The news follows the suspension of its shares on October 12th, after a fault with the vehicle's steering box led to over 400 of its new TX4 taxis being recalled and suspension of sales of the vehicle.

The company has made losses for the past four years and on August 14th had to delay the release of its unaudited results for the half year ended June 30th, after accounting errors on the previous year came to light.

The company's shares were last quoted on the stock exchange at 10p each, down from 35p a year ago.

Geely, its Chinese joint-venture partner owns 20%, while 26.82% owned by UK asset manager Toscafund, with Shroders holding just over 3%.

No one at Toscafund was available for comment when contacted.

CM