Goodyear sells certain Avon assets to U.K. startup

WESTBURY, England—Goodyear has agreed to sell assets related to the manufacturing and sale of certain motorsport tires under the names "Avon Motorsport" and "Avon Racing" to Turbalvoroco Unipessoal Lda., which does business as Nova Motorsport.

The assets include the brand license, which covers the manufacturing aspect, Goodyear said, while stressing that it remains the owner of the Avon brand, which remains a part of the Goodyear brand portfolio.

Nova Motorsport is an operating unit of British rubber compounder SPC Rubber Group, which announced in mid-January its intention to branch into the competition and specialist tire business, including disciplines such as vintage-racing, hill-climbs and rallycross.

The deal allows Nova Motorsport to operate as a "licensed manufacturer" of Avon-brand motorsports products

Neither Goodyear nor Nova Motorsport elaborated on what physical assets are involved in the deal—other than "residual" stock left over from the plant—nor at what price.

Nova said that, as a result of the deal, it has established a headquarters in Holt, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, which is roughly 3.5 miles southwest of the original Avon Rubber factory in Melksham.

On its website, Nova Motorsport states it "will be relocating to our state-of-the-art European factory, establishing it as our Centre for Manufacturing Excellence," with production set to start in March ahead of product availability by the second half of 2024.

Goodyear ceased all tire production at the Melksham plant in late 2023 and disclosed plans to phase out the Avon motorsports program.

In a statement, Goodyear noted it is "fully cognizant of the potential repercussions that the closure of our Melksham facility … 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."

Paul Hallas, managing director of SPC Group and founder of Nova Motorsport, added:

"Leveraging these valuable assets, we will proudly continue the legend with the vast majority of the Avon Motorsport range of tire products, and also innovate with new offerings borne out of our long-established expertise in rubber compounding at SPC Group.

"We are fortunate to start our new business with a recognized product and ready global reach through agents around the world. This will help us to swiftly establish our presence as a 'new brand with heritage' in the industry. …"

The company went on to say that by establishing an in-house R&D department and forming a team of global industry experts, it "aims to eclipse industry standards for bespoke tire technology and speed-to-market, setting new benchmarks for performance and customer service."

The brand's ambition is to be the No. 1 choice for specialist high-performance, low-volume automotive manufacturers, connoisseurs and private collectors.