British sportscar maker Caterham is set for increased stability and profitability following a management buy-in led by former Lotus general manager Ansar Ali.

The Surrey company currently sells 500 cars a year and has two UK dealerships.

Ali becomes managing director, taking over from Simon Nearn who will assist on a consultancy basis, and is joined by another ex-Lotus manager, Gideon Wigger, as operations director, and David Obertelli as finance director.

“For a number of years we have been seeking inward investment to support the ever spiralling cost of new product development,” says Nearn.

“Ansar and his team are ideally placed to begin the next chapter in the Caterham story.”