SAAB GB Enters Administration

Below is a letter received by us from SAAB GB on 29th November 2011. 

The letter is self explanatory and is very sad news, however it would seem all is not lost yet and hopefully, SAAB GB will be able to recover from this situation, but as we are all just too aware, these are very difficult times for both individuals and businesses alike.

Official Statement

Following months of intensive negotiations and a long period of suspended production and tight liquidity situation at Saab Automobile AB, a voluntary decision has been taken to place Saab Great Britain Ltd (“Saab GB”) into administration.

With immediate effect, David Dunckley and Daniel Taylor of Grant Thornton UK LLP have been appointed joint administrators of Saab GB.

Saab GB, a 100% subsidiary of Swedish Automobile N.V. (“Swan”), has exclusive rights to distribute Saab cars and parts in the UK. It employs 55 people in Milton Keynes and distributes the cars and parts to a 58 strong dealer network across the UK of which 20 are “Saab only” sites. Saab City, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saab GB employing 65 people, operates two Saab motor dealerships, one in Wapping and a smaller site in Fulham.

The board of Saab GB is of the opinion that administration gives the company and creditors the necessary legal protection until it has secured the required funding for the company. The appointment of the administrator is effected by the directors of Saab GB. Once appointed, the administrator will take on the management powers of the directors.

Swan continues discussions with potential investors regarding the sale of Saab Automobile AB and Saab Great Britain Limited.

A Saab GB customer hotline has been set up on 0845 300 9593 or visit www.saab.co.uk for more details.

As you can appreciate there will be more information to come over the next few days and weeks regarding Saab GBs progression through Administration. I will continue to keep you updated on these next steps.

My team and I thank you for your continued support and we look forward to communicating positive news to you within the coming weeks.

Should you have any questions, please contact Saab Corporate Sales.

ENDS:-

We have written much about the problems at Saab Automobile AB and its disappointing that the situation has come to this, however the UK administration isn’t the fault of Saab GB as they have had to contend with the on-off production in Sweden and of course, a huge knock in the credibility of the product because of the well publicised financial difficulties that SAAB (Swedish Automobile) have been experiencing. 

Attempts to sell Saab as a going concern came close to fruition on many occasions and at the moment a 100 million Euros offer from Chinese investor Pang Da and Youngman is on the table, with the terms of the deal in the process of being finalised and giving Saab GB the protection an administration affords, could see it survive until the refinancing package is in place.

In terms of performance, despite everything, Saab GB have done pretty well in terms of fleet sales, seeing year to date sales to October up by 48% to 2,087 vehicles, whilst in terms of overall performance, total sales are down around 10% to 4,554 vehicles, so its clear that there is still substantial goodwill towards the brand, which must be cause for optimism.

So its fingers crossed yet again and let’s hope anything else we hear about Saab is only good news.

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