Lotus Gets £10 Million From UK Government

Group Lotus will receive around £10 million in fresh funds from the UK government’s regional growth fund (RGF), the Eastern Daily Press was told by Business secretary Vince Cable. He said that the government has agreed on the regional growth fund for Lotus, which was signed off a few weeks ago. He added while they still have to discuss details of the cash injection, they have basically approved the application. Group Lotus has yet to officially comment on Cable’s disclosure. A new application for the RGF was filed weeks ago and has been agreed in principle, with only due diligence left to complete, according to sources cited by Autocar.
Under former chief Dany Bahar, Lotus filed an application to get £10 million from the RGF two-and-a-half years ago to finance development of five new cars. The plan, however, has been on hold after Bahar left Lotus in 2012, resulting to the holding of the application for the RGF.
Lotus’s new management team, headed by Aslam Farikullah, revived the application, which is understood to be more or less £10 million, although sources are reserved on the exact amount as well as it purpose to avoid any speculation about a new ‘plan’ for Lotus, following the failure of Bahar’s plans. The RGF could be accessed for new jobs and training, and for R&D projects, hinting that Lotus still plans to expand its current line-up. Cable disclosed that the government’s investments of around £1 billion from the RGF have resulted to about £6 billion of investment from the private sector.