The Welsh Government is seeking occupiers for a factory that was earmarked to produce a new TVR sports car - a project which it provided more than £14m in financial support for.
When first mooted back in 2016, the TVR project promised to create 200 direct jobs and breathe new life into the 70 year TVR brand, which was originally founded by Trevor Wilkinson back in 1947.
To support the project the Welsh Government bought the former 180,000 sq ft Techboard factory building in Ebbw Vale for £4.75m in 2017, before committing a further £7m fitting out the building for production of the planned TVR Griffith sports car. It also provided the project with a £2m loan, which was repaid with interest, while also investing £500,000 for a small equity stake.
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The Welsh Government has appointed Cardiff-based property advisory firm Cooke & Arkwright, to market its factory to other potential occupiers, while saying it continues to talk to TVR.
TVR, under its chairman Lee Edgar, was seeking to raise £25m through a corporate bond on the Dublin exchange, to be able to start production in Ebbw Vale. However, to date it has fallen well short of the target. TVR were asked to comment on the status of its factory project in Ebbw Vale.
An investment sale of the factory, even with a tenant (s) signed up for the long-term, would see the Welsh Government having to take a significant hit on its TVR investment.
If a new tenant (s) for the factory can be secured, in line with South Wales’ industrial property rental market, it would see the Welsh Government securing just over £4 a sq ft per annum. That would generate an income for a fully let factory in the region of £700,000 to £750,000 a year.
By keeping ownership of the factory, and even after taking into account future rental uplifts, it would still take years for the Welsh Government to get to a breakeven point on its TVR investment.
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One potential occupier could be Turkish firm Ciner which is investing in a major class bottle recycling plant next door to the factory site. which promises to create 600 direct jobs.
The former Techboard factory is also close to the Welsh Government’s new 53,000 sq ft 1 Rhyd y Blew industrial building, which is being marketed by property advisory firm Knight Frank.
The £8.5m project was part of a promised investment of £100m, over a decade in its Tech Valleys initiative - which it committed to in 2017 after its decision not to back the proposed Circuit of Wales racetrack project on commonland nearby. To date the Welsh Government said that £40m has been committed, including £12m for the cyber security National Digital Exploitations Centre in Ebbw Vale
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “TVR identified a Welsh Government-owned property in Ebbw Vale as its preferred location for its car production facility in Wales.
“The refurbishment of the property is now complete and represents a fantastic opportunity for any business to acquire a modern manufacturing facility in the region. We have recently appointed a property agent to market the property though we will continue to engage with TVR.”