BRITAIN’S car industry is revving back into life after BMW said it will invest more than £600million to upgrade its Mini factory in Oxford to produce electric vehicles.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak yesterday welcomed the move as “another shining example of how the UK is the best place to build cars of the future”.
The plant in Cowley, Oxford, will start manufacturing electric versions of the Mini Cooper and Mini Aceman SUV in 2026
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said it was a “huge vote of confidence” in Britain.
The plant in Cowley, Oxford, will start manufacturing electric versions of the Mini Cooper and Mini Aceman SUV in 2026, despite earlier threats from the German firm to shift electric car production to China.
Had BMW plugged its electric future solely in China, it would have likely made Mini’s site in Oxford obsolete in just seven years, as the car-maker has pledged to phase out petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
BMW’s screeching U-turn has been partly driven by the Government agreeing to £75million of support.
The Government said the move will secure thousands of workers in Oxford and at support sites in Coventry and Swindon.
Board member Milan Nedeljkovicć said: “With this investment we will develop the Oxford plant for production of the new generation of electric Minis and set the path for purely electric car manufacturing.”
The decision is a big boost to UK car production after supply chain struggles, chip shortages and the collapse of battery plant Britishvolt.
More Minis were produced last year in the UK — 159,795 — than any other car, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
A decade ago around 1.5million cars were produced in total in the UK but the industry has slumped since the pandemic, with only 775,014 built last year.
Mike Hawes, boss of the SMMT, said: “Investments such as this improve productivity and help deliver jobs and growth for the country.”
TRG sale’s £7.5million sweetener
The Restaurant Group said it had sold two chains for just £1
THE owner of Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito has paid a rival £7.5million to take the loss-making restaurant chains off its hands.
The Restaurant Group (TRG) yesterday said it had sold the two chains for just £1 to Big Table Group, owner of Cafe Rouge, Bella Italia and Las Iguanas.
The deal also included a £7.5million dowry in cash to smooth the sale.
Some 75 restaurants will be transferred to the new owner before the end of the year, with TRG charging its rival to continue providing some services until then.
The unusual arrangement comes as TRG fights off activist investors, who have been campaigning for the company to offload its struggling businesses and focus on Asian food chain Wagamama and its pubs.
TRG said that selling the loss-makers would boost its earnings margins and reduce its debt.
Cutting 75 sites will also reduce its lease costs by £50million.
It comes just days after TRG’s chairman Ken Hanna abruptly stepped down, and upbeat results revealing Wagamama branches in airports are doing well.
Activist investor Irenic Capital yesterday demanded a “fundamentally different direction for TRG to drive sustained value”.
TRG said that selling the loss-makers would boost its earnings margins and reduce its debt
Vistry homes in
BUILDER Vistry is shifting focus to only make affordable housing, as rising mortgage rates dent the property market.
It will merge its housebuilding and partnership arms, and work with councils and housing associations.
The move was welcomed by the City as Vistry said it could return £1billion to shareholders. It will sell half its sites to local authorities before building.
Vistry said that there was still a “chronic shortage” of affordable homes.
Across the industry, private home sales have slumped and builders have stopped buying land as demand dries up.
Ocado’s delivery by Uber
Ocado has started using Uber drivers to deliver groceries
POSH online supermarket Ocado has begun using Uber drivers to deliver groceries to customers.
The unorthodox delivery move is now being used for a quarter of orders on Ocado’s speedy Zoom service.
One customer told SE it was “very odd, a guy and his wife turned up in a car without any Ocado branding and just handed over my shopping”.
An Ocado representative confirmed that “during peak times” it was using “approved third-party couriers”.
It is the latest shake-up in online food deliveries after a number of companies have gone bust or been swallowed by rivals — with Deliveroo recently announcing it would partner with GoPuff.
Analyst Andrew Gwynn at Exane said Ocado Zoom customers had much smaller baskets, adding: “They’re expensive to deliver and a lot of work for little reward.”