Have RED Gone Bust? LVG Ltd, Owners Of RED Driving School & RED Instructor Training Go Into Administration

Thousands of trainee driving instructors face a worrying time as the owners of RED Driving School and RED Instructor Training go into Administration.

LVG Limited (Lansdowne Venture Group) are best known for the RED brand of driver training services:

• RED Driving School
• RED Instructor Training
• RED Fleet Training

LVG Limited also supply accountancy services to driving instructors under the FBTC brand and publish ADI News, a monthly magazine for driving instructors.

The Administrators, MCR have stated that:

"...The business is currently being traded in Administration whilst a sale of the business and assets of the Company as a going concern is pursued..." (source: MCR)

Some of the 19 RED Instructor Training Colleges throughout the UK have already closed, with RED training and administrative staff being made redundant and existing driving instructor trainees being transferred to remaining RED Instructor Training Colleges .

In recent weeks RED have been running sales promotions in shopping centres around the UK with the aim of generating interest in their driving instructor training courses.

LVG Ltd origins and timeline:

• 1993 - The Instructor College Ltd commenced business providing driving instructor training courses. 
• 1994 - The Instructor College Ltd bought an existing driving school and re-named it "Red". They started offering franchises with Red Driving School to driving instructor trainees who were with The Instructor College. 
• 1997 - LVG Ltd was formed to combine the operations of The Instructor College and Red Driving School. 
• 2004 - LVG Ltd acquired it's main competitor, a driving instructor training company and driving school called "Let's Drive" which had gone into Administration.
• 2004 - 2010 - expansion of the RED brand including extensive TV and newspaper promotion of the driving instructor training side of the business
• 16/02/2010 - LVG Ltd enter Administration - as of 18/02/2010 their companies are continuing to trade whilst a buyer is sought.

In 2009, LVG Ltd suffered adverse publicity when RED was featured on an ITV Tonight Programme entitled "How To Blow Your Redundancy" which examined claims made by RED in their TV adverts for driving instructor training courses.