Yesterday' Trading: A Black Day For Manganese Cabs
19th September 2008
While central banks try to put out fires here, there and everywhere with injections of cash to keep the global financial system up and running, London taxi cabs are going up in smoke.
Shares of Manganese Bronze, the company that manufactures the iconic black cab, succumbed to renewed selling and touched 245p before closing only a penny lower at a year's low of 264p as dealers heard that yet another of its 'expensive' TX4 cabs had burst into flames in Central London.
Spontaneous fires in TX4s with '56' registration plates in recent weeks have led to 600 being recalled by London Taxis International - the Coventry-based manufacturing subsidiary of MB. Along with the Public Carriage Office, LTI is investigating the cause of the problem which could one day easily lead to fatalities and compensation claims.
Dicky Dunn, a north London cabbie, forked out £31,500 on his TX4 just over a year ago. It went up in smoke in Snow Hill, High Holborn, last week with three punters on board.
All of this spells trouble for Manganese Bronze, whose taxi sales have already fallen 30pc over the past year because of the credit crunch.
Fearing they could literally be getting into a hot seat could make Londoners choose the bus or tube to reach their destination.
Source; thisismoney.co.uk