The reborn TVR first showed us the new Griffith in 2017 and intended to launch it in 2019, but now it has emerged that it needs approximately $31 million in order to put its long-awaited sports car into production.
In the three years since its debut the new Griffith’s launch has been hampered by a series of delays and financial issues. One of the key reasons for the delay is that, in January 2018, the Welsh government purchased a 3 per cent stake in the automaker, meaning it is now considered a state-funded company under European Union regulations and was forced to take EU-wide bids for the renovation of its factory in Ebbw Vale, South Wales.
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This process has taken an extraordinarily long time and it wasn’t until March this year that TVR submitted a planning application detailing the refurbishment of the factory.
Autocar reports that TVR is owed more than £8.23 million from debtors, has net assets slightly exceeding £2.1 million ($2.6 million), and needs to pay off a £2 million ($2.48 million) loan from the Welsh government and a £3 million ($3.7 million) loan from financial firm Fiduciam Nominees. To fulfill its obligations and put the Griffith into production, TVR is attempting to raise £25 million ($31 million) by issuing bonds on the Dublin stock exchange through Irish firm Audacia Capital.
In an investment overview published by Audacia, TVR states that it has taken orders of more than £40 million ($49.6 million) for the Griffith, with the initial Launch Edition variant already sold out. The investment overview added that TVR initially intends on focusing on the UK market before starting sales in Continental Europe and eventually expanding into North America, the Middle East, Japan and Australia.
