KPMG ousted in Land Rover deal
Car giant Land Rover and KPMG have reached a compromise which will keep collapsed chassis maker UPF Limited operational, but has also resulted in the Big Five firm being replaced as adminstrative receivers.
Under an agreement reached on Friday, the terms of which are still under negotiation, Land Rover will acquire UPF’s debt, enabling the chassis builder to remain in business ‘through a number of committed parties’.
Acquiring the debt has allowed Land Rover to replace KPMG with mid-tier firm Grant Thornton. Engineering group GKN will take charge of the chassis production at UPF.
The details of who will assume responsibility for the different sectors of UPF have yet to be finalised and are subject to due diligence.
Both parties have also agreed on the amount of money in the settlement but were unable to comment because it is subject to a strict confidentiality agreement.
The agreement will safeguard jobs in both Land Rover and UPF and guarantee the supply of chassis, ensuring continued production of the Discovery model.
In a joint statement, Land Rover and KPMG said: ‘Land Rover and KPMG, together with the banks who appointed them, are confident that this is in the best interests of all concerned parties and that the agreement comes as a result of the professional conduct of all parties throughout the negotiations.
‘All parties acknowledged that this was a complex case with potentially wider implications for British industry and are therefore delighted to have reached a win-win resolution.’
A spokesman from Land Rover said KPMG had acted professionally on behalf of UPF.
