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it Land Rover
• The battle for Land Rover entered a new phase this week with a bitter war of words between rival bidders J C Bamford, the excavator manufacturer, and the management buy-out team led by Land Rover-Leyland chairman David Andrews.
Last Thursday, JCB chairman Anthony Bamford launched a scathing attack on the management buy-out consortium, led by Schroder Ventures, claiming that it is "simply not a credible alternative" to his own company's bid proposal.
Bamford warned against any "misplaced sentimentality" towards the proposals saying that Land Rover has not actually made a decent profit for years."
Even though the Land Rover Group made an ope ing profit of .210 million las year Bamford claimed that likely that, after interest, t profit would be much lowe According to Bamford, I Rover "has seen its marke share plummet — in the U from 58 per cent in 1982 t per cent in 1985 — and ha: failed to penetrate the US market".
The company had also lc out to the Japanese on des innovation and price compc tiveness. "If there is no change in the management and that is exactly what a agement buy-out means — how realistic is it to expect the much-needed change ir performance?" Bamford asl
However, in an interviev with CM, Andrews strong! rejected JCB's claims desa ing them as misplaced and, places, "grossly inaccurate' Andrews says there is "noi ing sentimental" about the management offer or "the tude of institutions backing The Land Rover consort also recently received a strong vote of confidence f the unions at the Solihull pl which are reported to have ordered their own finance house — Unity Trust — to derwrite an employee shan scheme worth about £10 rn lion for the 10,000 Land R( Group workers at Solihull z Birmingham.
Andrews also described JCB's claims about LR's profitability as "rubbish". Rover has paid its way, it i not a financial drain on BL.
Criticism of its market sl by Bamford was also unfair live, according to Ant, as it contains no refer; to the recent
,sses of Range Rover, in the UK and Europe. y suggestion of stagnation top of Land Rover is trongly refuted by Ant. ''We've done more in ast four to five years unUs management team n the previous 25
The BL board was meeting to discuss the four bid proposals as CM went to press on Tuesday, but no announcement was expected then.
Although BL stresses that it may yet make no recommendation of any of the four bidders to the government allowing Land Rover to remain in public ownership, a decision either way is expected to be announced before the end of the month.
Of the four groups, only the management buy-out team has declared a firm interest in all three members of the group — Land Rover, Range Rover and Freight Rover. JCB has "not specifically excluded Freight Rover from its proposals."
Freight Rover — one of the most profitable parts within BL — is an integral part of the Land Rover Group, says Andrews. It is a major customer for Land Rover diesel engines and currently carries out press work for Land Rover at its Common Lane plant. "If somebody tears that bit apart it will undo the work of many years," Andrews added.
• Leyland Trucks has taken a step closer towards selling heavy commercial vehicles in the United States with the news that talks with a mystery US company, West Virginia Industries, are now "well advanced".
CM understands that Leyland hope to begin shipping forward-control 526 Scammell tractive units in completelyknocked-down kit form for assembly by West Virginia Industries. The US-built Scammells will be badged as Mountaineer.