Goodyear sells Cooper Avon assets to Nova, leases Avon motorsport tyre brand

Goodyear executives have confirmed that Turbalvoroco Unipessoal LDA, trading as Nova Motorsport (Nova), will buy “certain assets used in the manufacturing and sale of” Avon-branded motorsport tyres. Nova has also acquired “the brand license, traditionally used in the manufacturing and sale of certain motorsport tyres under the names ‘Avon Motorsport’ and ‘Avon Racing’”. Tyres & Accessories understands that Nova plans to continue the production of some of the Avon Motorsport product range independently from Goodyear.

Commenting on the news, Goodyear executives said: “We were fully cognizant of the potential repercussions that the closure of our Melksham facility in the UK could have on some niche motorsport championships, hence we are pleased to have signed an agreement regarding these assets. We are fully supportive as they industrialize production in the coming period.

“We would like to take this opportunity to highlight that Nova will license the Avon Motorsport and Avon Racing brand names for use in connection with the production of certain Avon Motorsport product ranges which will be announced later. Goodyear remains the owner of the Avon brand and this agreement does not change the brand’s position in Goodyear’s brand portfolio.”

However, while the Nova deal may well offer Avon-branded motorsport tyre production continuity, questions have been raised about whether or not the sale has left Goodyear more exposed in legal or financial terms. Indeed, T&A understands that, unless Goodyear obtains royalties from Nova for its 10-year lease of the Avon tyre brand, the sale price was low enough to mean that the transaction could result in a net loss on assets. Without such royalties, sources told us, by appointing a third-party to produce tyres bearing one of its group brands, Goodyear executives may have exposed the company to potential legal liabilities should something go wrong.

Furthermore, Tyres & Accessories understands from multiple sources that Nova is negotiating with Camac in Portugal in order to produce the Avon-branded motorsport tyres. While the news represents a significant business opportunity for Camac as well as Nova and a production continuity solution for Goodyear, it does means that the related motorsport tyre production of a historic British tyre brand is leaving the UK.

Confirmation of the Nova deal does much to explain what has happened to the ex-Cooper-Avon motorsport production machinery and to some extent know-how, but it doesn’t explain what happened to the Melksham factory’s compounding and mixing technology as well as its two-wheel tyre production technology. The obvious suggestion is that the machinery would be split between Goodyear’s Serbia car tyre factory and the Montlucon two-wheel tyre factory. Well-placed sources told T&A that most of the two-wheel tyre manufacturing equipment has indeed gone to Montlucon. However, little – if any – has been transferred to Serbia. Rather, T&A understands that the mixing and compounding gear has been dismantled by third parties for sale on the open market – likely within Europe.