Insider Media Limited

Classic car manufacturer Morgan Motor Company, based in Malvern, is eying up international growth after reaching the final stages of the HSBC Business Thinking competition. Charles Morgan, managing director of the £35m-turnover company, told Insider it would target selling into China to boost its revenues.

The company is one of five West Midlands businesses to have reached the final of the bank's Business Thinking awards. Each finalist will attend an overseas business exchange trip after which two will be named regional winners.

Both will receive up to £6m in lending and a financial reward of up to £120,000.

Morgan Motors, which predominantly sells its classic car designs across Europe, said it needed the cash to begin exporting its vehicles to China.

"We've sold to a few expats in Hong Kong, but really want the brand to become as famous as it is in Europe," said Morgan. "The Chinese market is really developing a taste for products made in the UK, and a British manufacturing brand is guaranteed quality. However, as we have so far self-funded our expansion, we need investment to help us get started."

Morgan said he hoped to have sold 100 of the niche vehicles in China over the next year.

The Morgan Motor Company was founded in 1909 by H.F.S Morgan and his father Reverend H.G. Morgan. It specialised in hand-crafted motor vehicles based on a wooden frame.

Now, the company produces three flagship designs; the three-wheeler, the roadster and the plus-four.

Morgan said that the company produces about 1,000 of its classic car designs each year, and added that its three-wheeler design had experienced a surge in popularity.

"It's definitely old fashioned; it's a modern take on a classic," said Morgan. "We had 500 of the designs on pre-order before we began constructing the cars earlier this year. There's a real appetite from people to have something made especially for them. We combine technology with craftsmanship, and I suppose that's what makes our business so unique."

The other West Midlands businesses to have been shortlisted for the prize are East End Foods, based in West Bromwich; Birmingham's NDC Polythenes; Brierley Hill-headquartered Brandenburg and Leicester's Advance Tapes.