As Morgan was unveiling its latest Plus Six sports car in Geneva, it also announced that Investindustrial was taking a majority stake in Morgan Motor Company. Morgan has been family-owned for 110 years.
If you’ve heard of Investindustrial before, that’s because this won’t be the first time it has kicked in a bit with a specialist British car manufacturer. It also has a reasonable stake in Aston Martin, having invested £150 million in the company for a 37.5 percent stake in 2012.
“The past two years have been the most successful in our company’s 110-year history,” said Dominic Riley, chairman of Morgan Motor Company.
“However, to really fulfil Morgan’s full potential and secure our long-term future, both the family and management team felt it was essential to bring in a strategic partner. A partner that shares our vision for Morgan and has the expertise, financial resources and track record of success in the automotive world, to make it happen. That partner is Investindustrial.”
The future is bright for Morgan
The Plus Six is just the beginning of a new model offensive, which the partnership with Investindustrial is hoped to accelerate. The CX platform, first used in the new Plus Six, ought to help speed up manufacturing and development and open doors to new markets the world over.
Morgan wasn’t exactly in a bad place before Investindustrial bought in. Last year it scored a net profit of £3.2million from revenues of £33.8m, in spite of 2018 being a wind-down year in terms of production. Nevertheless, the Investindustrial partnership will shore up Morgan’s financial standing and bolster its efforts to future-proof itself.
As long as that most unique spirit that makes a Morgan a Morgan remains, we’re all for it.
“Morgan is one of the most famous names in the automotive world,” said Andrea C. Bonomi, chairman of the Industrial Advisory Board.
“Morgan’s handmade British sports cars are true icons of the industry. We have followed the company and seen its progress for some time and see significant potential for Morgan to develop internationally whilst retaining its hand-built heritage, which is at the heart of the Morgan Motor Company.”