Phoenix Four await the verdict of 16m inquiry
A REPORT into the collapse of MG Rover which has cost £16m and lasted four years will finally be published this week, with the activities of the so-called “Phoenix Four” set to be the focus of attention.
Former Rover directors John Towers, John Edwards, Nick Stephenson and Peter Beale took over the carmaker for £10 in 2000, but came under the spotlight for withdrawing millions of pounds in salary and other benefits prior to its collapse in April 2005.
The Serious Fraud Office last month backed away from a full-scale criminal investigation into the activities of the Phoenix Four, who have always denied any wrongdoing.
If the report, published on Friday, details evidence of any questionable practices on the part of the quartet, they could be banned from serving as company directors in future.
Accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward and state-appointed inspectors Guy Newey QC and Gervase MacGregor will pick up a combined £16.3m for their work on the report.
The collapse of MG Rover came at the cost of 6,500 jobs and prompted criticism of the government, which backed the Phoenix takeover and later furnished the company with a £6.5m loan in a last-ditch bid to save it from collapse.