Britain’s St. Modwen Properties, which owns most of MG Rover’s Longbridge site, and received £5 million in rent annually from the car maker, on Friday told Reuters it was an “unlikely possibility” the plant would be saved and redevelopment seemed inevitable.
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Chairman Anthony Glossop told the news agency that while his first hope was that a solution would be found, “it is difficult to envisage a scenario in which a buyer can be found” to keep the car factory running in its old guise.
Glossop reportedly said St. Modwen’s “major game” was regenerating redundant industrial land by changing its use. “This is sadly what will now happen at Longbridge,” he said. The site is on the outskirts of Birmingham, in England’s West Midlands.
Among St. Modwen’s current developments is a former diesel engine factory on the outskirts of Manchester, Reuters said – the site is being converted to residential use featuring 630 homes, a convenience foodstore, pub, health centre, pharmacy, nursery, veterinary surgery, and sports and recreational facilities.
Glossop told Reuters the price St. Modwen paid for the Longbridge land – 57.5 million pounds ($US108 million) for 275 acres – reflected the fact that both sides had regarded at least some redevelopment as probable.
When it bought a 228-acre tranche of Longbridge in a January 2004 sale and lease-back deal, St. Modwen said provision had been made “for the sensible release of surplus land at MG Rover’s option”, Reuters added.
Glossop reportedly said it would take five years to see whether the Longbridge site deal had been a success.
