Wellingborough-based racing-car maker RML Group has gone ‘into the red’ following a “very challenging” year, but the company is confident that recent contract wins will return it to profitability this year (www.rmlmallock.co.uk).

The business was set up as Ray Mallock Atlantic Racing in 1979 and renamed RML Group in 1984. In the year to 31 October 2015, it recorded a pre-tax loss of £1.6 million, compared with a profit of £1.2 million a year earlier, while its revenues fell from £16.8 million to £7.4 million.

The board said the decline was due to reduced activity levels and a restructuring exercise that was carried out to reduce its cost base.

However, in July last year, RML was asked to design and then build and a high-performance electric racing car. It also won a multi-year contract to design and supply certain components for the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

An RML spokesman said: “These successes, plus the significant increase in other prospects, reflect a greater emphasis on business development, with particular effort to broaden the scope of work undertaken. Various other projects are currently being discussed in the motor-sport, automotive and defence sectors.”