Today there was the much publicised follow up meeting held at Transport House in Birmingham. I attended on behalf of JFRW, with Carl Chinn (Trustee), Richard Burden MP, Gerard Coyne (Unite Union), Gemma Cartwright (RCAT), Andy Cartwright (ex-worker), Eric McDonald (Trustee), and Adrian Ross. We met again with Nigel Petrie and Peter Dillion who represented Phoenix Venture Holdings.
It was honourable for Nigel and Peter to meet us and the talks were very amicable. After all, non of the Phoenix Four, notably John Towers, were prepared to meet us in person. Sadly - they confirmed there is no money in the Trust Fund (with the exception of the £21k put aside for any future administration costs). They also confirmed the Phoenix Directors refuse to put in any of their own fortune to live up to their original £50 million pledge. In addition, any money that will be generated by the winding up of MGR Capital will also be kept by the Directors. Any hope of money being placed into the Trust is now dependant on on the outcome of the ongoing dispute between the Phoenix Directors and HBOS.
Also Nigel Petrie sent the following text to clarify the Phoenix position on the dispute with HBOS: "We continue to dispute the reasonableness of the way in which HBOS has exercised its rights in relation to the guarantee provided by MG Rover Dealer Properties, and we continue to pursue this matter"
3rd March 2011