The Welsh Government's Investment in TVR

Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:17 pm on 17 January 2018.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 3:17, 17 January 2018

Can I thank the Member for his question and suggest that, in order to really show his support for TVR, he puts an order in today for the new Chimaera? The last set of accounts do indeed state that, but it's incorrect to assume that the loan is non-repayable. We were not responsible for submitting those notes, but the quote 'no intention of demanding repayment', as I said to Russell George, relates to the clause that we had built into the support that would have enabled us to demand immediate repayment should the company decide not to bring the manufacturing of the Chimaera to Wales. That's clearly not the case, because of the investment already made in the works and the negotiations under way to acquire the small factory and, indeed, the work that's under way by our officials in making the full facility ready for the commencement of production. Therefore, the loan will be repaid in full.

In terms of equity, of course, our equity was significant. However, the company has been successful in drawing the required equity to get this motor vehicle into production. In addition to the scrutiny of the business plan that KPMG carried out prior to the March 2016 decision, I'm pleased to say that Deloitte have been operating on our behalf more recently and they have given us confidence in the company's ability to take the project forward, to take the car forward and to deliver, not just for the investors, but also for the customers.