Two receivers, Kenneth Cork and Paul Shewell from the firm of WH Cork, Gully and Company have been appointed to the DeLorean car factory in West Belfast.
The appointment of the receivers is seen as a last-ditch effort to keep the DeLorean company operating.
John Zachary DeLorean established the factory at Dunmurray so he could manufacture his own cars, It was once hoped that 20,000 DMC cars would be produced a year, but the company faced financial collapse 18 months after production began in August 1980.
Accountant Kenneth Cork is hopeful the company can be reconstructed and made viable. In the House of Commons Northern Ireland Secretary James Prior said the Dunmurray enterprise was a remarkable achievement; setting up a modern car plant, designing a car, training the workforce and opening an American market. But the British government, which has already heavily invested in the project, cannot grant any more aid, and as Mr DeLorean cannot find any more funds, receivership was the only solution.
It is envisaged the constructive receivership will last between four and six weeks and already there have already been a number of expressions of interest from buyers for the firm.
Output for the factory has been revised down and Mr DeLorean will put £2.5 million of his own money into the American side of the business to keep it solvent. The British government have forfeited the rights to claim any of this money.
Mr Prior explained the government’s position,
I hope that all concerned will now work together to explore the scope for establishing a viable, realistic and financially secure basis on which the DeLorean sports motor car project might survive and continue to provide much needed employment in Northern Ireland.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 19 February 1982. The reporter is John O’Callaghan.
