Manganese Bronze shares hit by £4m error

Shares in the maker of the iconic black taxi cab headed into reverse yesterday as the firm revealed a near-£4 million hole in its accounts and warned of mounting losses.

Manganese Bronze, whose cabs are a familiar sight on the streets of Edinburgh but face increasing competition from Glasgow-based manufacturer Allied Vehicles, blamed a combination of “system and procedural errors” for the accounting mistake. It has left the firm understating losses by some £3.9m dating back several years.

The group, which has postponed its interim results until next month, said it failed to transfer a number of transactions and balances to the new IT system, introduced in August 2010.

Manganese, which is 20 per cent owned by Chinese firm Geely, said it continued to trade at a loss as conditions remain “challenging”.