TVR sold to Russian millionaire

ONE of the last British-owned car makers has been sold to a Russian business tycoon.

A statement released on the company website confirmed the new owner of the Lancashire-based sports car company TVR as millionaire Nikolai Smolenski, the 23-year-old son

of controversial tycoon Alexander Smolenski whose banking empire collapsed during the 1998 Russian financial crisis.

The announcement said the firm, which makes 1,000 cars a year, would continue production with a view to channelling extra investment into new technology and production methods.

The new owner, who has not disclosed how much he paid, had apparently ruled out any large-scale restructuring of the multi-million-pound car firm and added that former owner Peter Wheeler, a former North Sea oil engineer who bought the firm 23 years ago, would remain on the board as a senior consultant.

Smolenski is understood to have already visited the company's headquarters near Blackpool, where it employs around 400 people.

TVR is one of the few privately-owned car firms in the UK and specialises in manufacturing high-performance luxury vehicles such as the Chimaera and Griffith.

The company said: 'Plans for the future are to continue trading, invest heavily in new technology and production methods, and hence enhance the TVR brand to become a global player.

'There will be no large-scale restructuring, and new managerial appointments will be made in due course.'

TVR's most recent accounts show a profit of about £400,000 in 2002.